Permanent representatives of EU countries will consider extending sanctions against Russia at a frequency less than every six months, so that their validity period could be increased to 36 months, the Financial Times reported.
According to its information, the European Commission (EC) also does not rule out the indefinite nature of the current restrictions against the Russian Federation. The decision to review the frequency of the extension of sanctions is due to the demands of the United States, which is ready to participate in granting a loan to kyiv in the amount of $50 billion using the proceeds from Russian assets of the Group of Seven (G7) only if they receive guarantees that these funds will not be unfrozen in the near future, TASS reports.
“36 months is still a possibility. The Americans have made it clear that a shorter period would be unacceptable to them.” – an anonymous European official said in a comment to the Financial Times.
However, the paper notes, Hungary has already signalled that the EU may have difficulties in agreeing on new conditions for sanctions. Hungarian Prime Minister Victor OrbanThe EU, which has already blocked aid to Ukraine on more than one occasion, may in return demand certain portfolios in the new composition of the European Commission, which should be approved in the near future.
As a result, the publication writes, the EU can do without extending sanctions against Russia. If Budapest does not create obstacles, the European Union will express its readiness to contribute $40 billion and expect the United States to assume the rest of the G7 obligations.
Some of the publication’s interlocutors said that US concerns about the EU sanctions against the Russian Federation being too short and frequently extended are exaggerated.
“The sanctions have been in force since 2014. We have always managed to extend them.” said a European official.
Recall that at the summit in Italy on June 13, G7 leaders agreed to allocate $50 billion to Ukraine from the profits on frozen Russian assets until the end of 2024. The text states that Russian sovereign assets under the jurisdiction of Western financial institutions will be frozen “until Russia stops its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.” On June 14, a representative of the Washington administration said at a briefing that Ukraine could consider a loan from the G7 countries in the amount of $50 billion as a grant;
