European leaders, amid criticism from African leaders for the alleged negative impact of trade sanctions, have decided to release part of the funds of Russian banking institutions.
The European Union will change its sanctions against Russia. In particular, it is planned to unfreeze part of the funds of the largest banks of the Russian Federation, which may be needed in global trade in food and fertilizers, Reuters reported on Tuesday, July 19.
The move comes amid criticism from African leaders about the negative impact of trade sanctions. They argue that the sanctions allegedly exacerbated the deficit, which was the main cause of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its blockage of Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea.
EU countries, after the adoption of the regulation, will be able to unfreeze previously blocked economic resources belonging to Russia’s largest lenders VTB, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Otkritie Bank, VEB, Promsvyazbank and Bank of Russia.
Under new sanctions to be imposed on Wednesday, Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, will also be subject to a freeze on its assets, except for the resources needed to exchange food.
The draft document states that the assets may be unfrozen “after determining that such funds or economic resources are necessary for the purchase, import or transportation of agricultural and food products, including wheat and fertilizers. “
The EU also plans to regulate food exports from Russian ports that have been halted by traders since EU sanctions, despite measures that explicitly exclude food exports, the officer.
The EU, along with the US, UK and other countries, imposed extensive sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.
Let us recall that the European Union disconnected the largest Russian bank Sberbank, as well as the Russian Agricultural Bank and the Moscow Credit Bank from the SWIFT interbank system
Earlier it was reported that seven Russian banks were disconnected from SWIFT: VTB, Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Russia, Sovcombank and VEB (Vnesheconombank).
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.