G7 plans further punitive measures
US imposes another package of sanctions on Russia
05/18/2023, 11:28 p.m
At the G7 summit in Hiroshima, the penalties for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine are tightened again. First the export of rough diamonds from Russia is banned, now the USA is imposing another far-reaching package of sanctions against Russia. The next sanctions are already being prepared.
The US has announced a new package of sanctions in response to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. One of the plans is to cut off about 70 companies and organizations from Russia and other countries from US exports, said a high-ranking US government official shortly before the official start of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan. In addition, more than 300 individuals, companies and organizations, ships and planes are to be subject to other punitive measures.
Russia’s war against Ukraine is one of the main topics at the meeting of the seven leading democracies, which officially begins this Friday. In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the West had already imposed unprecedented punitive measures against Russia in recent months, including far-reaching trade restrictions. In Hiroshima, the G7 states want to discuss, among other things, how they can improve the enforcement of existing sanctions and prevent them from being circumvented.
G7 plans new sanctions package
The US official said all G7 countries are preparing new sanctions and export controls at the same time. He did not want to comment on the partners’ plans in detail. “But the United States will launch an extensive package of measures of its own.” The aim is to increase the economic pressure on Russia and make it even more difficult to maintain its war machine. The plan is to further restrict access to goods that are important on the battlefield, said the senior US government official.
About 70 companies and organizations from Russia and third countries should be blacklisted to cut them off from US exports. In addition, more than 300 new sanctions are planned against companies and organizations, individuals, ships and aircraft to prevent evasion of punitive measures. It is about financial and other supporters of Russia. The sanctions hit targets in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
In addition, sanctioning powers should be extended to the digital sector of the Russian economy. Concrete details on the new US sanctions package and those affected should follow. There will be a separate declaration on Ukraine at the Hiroshima summit. It includes new commitments to close sanctions loopholes and further reduce dependence on Russian energy, the US official said. Efforts should also be continued to restrict Russia’s access to the international financial system.
Rough diamond export restricted
It had previously become known that the G7 group intends to restrict the export of rough diamonds from Russia, which is worth billions. A corresponding declaration is to be decided in Hiroshima, as several diplomats from the German Press Agency said on Thursday. The diamond trade is a significant source of income for Russia. The state diamond promoter Alrosa achieved 332 billion rubles (around 4 billion euros) in 2021 – the last year in which it disclosed its figures. Russia is the world’s largest producer of rough diamonds. So far, the EU has not restricted the diamond trade. One of the reasons has so far been resistance from Belgium. The Flemish port city of Antwerp has been considered the diamond center of the world since the 16th century.
The USA, Canada and Great Britain, on the other hand, had already imposed sanctions on Alrosa. According to the outgoing Alrosa CEO Sergei Ivanov, however, this did little harm to the group. Ivanov was recently optimistic that new sanctions would not take effect either.
In addition to the USA, the G7 also includes Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy and Canada as well as representatives of the European Union. The deliberations of the G7 group are scheduled from Friday to Sunday.