Slovakia opposes the inclusion of nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants in the 12th package of EU anti-Russian sanctions
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Bratislava explains that Slovakia’s “nuclear power plants have not yet been sufficiently transformed to be able to operate on alternative fuels,” that is, fuels of non-Russian origin, the Hnonline portal reported.
The Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia, Juraj Blanar, said that the sanctions did not weaken Russia, but damaged business in the EU, including Slovakia, so his country will oppose the inclusion of nuclear fuel for nuclear power plants in the 12th package.
If nuclear fuel is subject to sanctions, this will negatively affect the republic. Our red line is that there should be no nuclear fuel in the package, because our nuclear power plants have not yet transformed enough to be able to work with other fuels, Blanar said.
Earlier, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Economic Relations Peter Szijjártó also said that Hungary would not support sanctions against Russian nuclear energy in any package.
Background
The European Commission has prepared a draft 12th package of sanctions against Russia. It is expected that the list will include 120 people and companies involved in undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Among those whom the European Commission plans to add to the existing sanctions lists is President Vladimir Putin’s cousin Anna Tsivileva. She heads the Defenders of the Fatherland foundation, which supports the Russian army in Ukraine.
The expanded list also includes Ilya Medvedev, whose name and date of birth coincide with the name and date of birth of the only son of Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.
He is being persecuted for organizing a disinformation and propaganda campaign in Ukraine.
The European Commission also intends to introduce a complete ban on the sale of Russian diamonds within the EU, as well as jewelry that uses precious stones mined in Siberian mines. According to EU estimates, this will deprive the Russian budget of about 4.5 billion euros per year. The introduction of this ban has been under consideration since last year.
It became possible to do this after Belgium, where the Antwerp World Diamond Center is located, withdrew its objections in the summer, and the G7 agreed to impose sanctions during the summit in Japan.
Under the proposal put forward by Belgium, all diamonds of a certain size, likely between 0.5 and one carat, would be given a unique identifier via a blockchain record. It will show the origin of the stones. It is likely that such a system will be used in up to 80-90% of the world’s diamonds.
This will allow wholesalers and retailers to distinguish legal diamonds from illegal ones.
In addition, the EU, in its 12th package of sanctions, proposes a ban on the sale of tankers for transporting crude oil and petroleum products to Russia, Reuters previously reported.
During the first round of discussions on the new package of sanctions, it was stated that the sale of EU tankers to third countries should include a ban that the vessels could not be resold to Russia or used to transport Russian oil or oil products that do not meet the price ceiling of $60 per barrel. According to Radio Liberty’s Brussels correspondent Rikard Jozwiak, Hungary “expressed reservations about the entire package.”
Source: Racurs
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