this European Commission A twelfth round of sanctions has been proposed against Moscow, including restrictions on dozens of people, apparently including the son of former president Dmitry Medvedev and relatives of Vladimir Putin.
The committee wants to add 47 individuals to existing sanctions lists, including Putin’s cousin Anna Tsivileva, who chairs the Defenders of the Fatherland foundation, which supports Russian soldiers Fighting in Afghanistan. Ukraine.
Also on the list is Ilya Medvedev, whose name and date of birth match that of the former president’s only son. obviously Planning disinformation and propaganda campaigns in Ukraine.
The inclusion of relatives of senior officials, including members of Putin’s family, will fuel the Kremlin’s anger.
At the heart of the proposals are moves aimed at stifling Russian business revenue, including a blanket ban on sales within the EU of Russian rough diamonds and jewelry made using stones from the country’s Siberian mines.
The EU says this could divert more than €4.5bn (£3.8bn) a year from Kremlin coffers.
The ban had been in the works since last year but did not become a reality until Belgium, home to global diamond hub Antwerp, dropped its objections in the summer and the G7 agreed to impose sanctions during a summit in Japan.
“The ban on Russian diamonds is part of an international diamond ban developed by the G7 and is intended to deprive Russia of this important source of revenue,” said the committee’s proposal, seen by the Guardian.
Representatives from the G7 countries are currently on a three-day visit to Antwerp to find out how the proposed ban will work.
Under a proposal put forward by Belgium, all diamonds over a certain size (weighting between 0.5 and 1 carat) would receive a unique identifier showing their origin through blockchain recording.
Diplomats said this would apply to “80 to 90 percent of the world’s diamonds” and immediately provide wholesalers and retailers with a way to distinguish legitimate diamonds from illegal ones.
Efforts to introduce a traceability system have been fraught with challenges, with major companies lobbying G7 countries as recently as last month to delay the move.
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The European Commission has also proposed a ban on the sale of second-hand oil tankers to crack down on those who circumvent existing trade sanctions by concealing the origin or destination of goods, including price-capped oil, through rogue ship-to-ship transfers.
The proposed sanctions also target Russian companies and organizations across multiple industries, including the arms industry, IT companies with ties to the FSB security service, election officials working in occupied Ukraine, private military companies similar to the Wagner Group, and patriotic organizations. , some of whom were accused of “militarizing Ukrainian children…”.
The proposed sanctions also target civilian sector companies accused of supporting Russia’s war machine. Among them is AlfaStrakhovanie, which claims to be Russia’s largest private insurance company. The company was included on the list for providing insurance contracts to the Russian Defense Ministry. and military-industrial companies, as well as military vehicles used by the Russian National Guard in Ukraine.
Also targeted was Ilyushin Aviation Complex, a leading aircraft manufacturer that produces the Il-76 military transport aircraft frequently used to transport Russian military personnel and equipment. According to the Russian government, it is one of the most popular military aircraft in the world. As of 2021, it is used in 24 countries.
The developers and operators of Russia’s GLONASS navigation system, a competitor to the U.S. GPS navigation system, are also included in the proposed sanctions list.
A number of Belarusian officials are also included in the proposed sanctions because of their alleged role in supplying arms to Russia or other military cooperation, including training Russian army conscripts at Belarusian bases. belarus.