EU and G7 countries consider new sanctions against Russia

EU foreign chief Josep Borrell said EU foreign ministers were considering new sanctions against Russia. The photo is from a press conference in New York earlier on Wednesday. Photo: Julia Nikhinson/AP/NTB

By NTB | 22.09.2022 11:10:48

Policy: Borrell made the statement just after the end of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in New York on Thursday evening Norwegian time.

– We will review and introduce further restrictive measures, both at individual and sectoral level, Borrell told reporters after the meeting.

He added that a final decision had to be made in a formal meeting.

After the meeting, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod called for the introduction of new sanctions. He tells Ritzau that it should happen as soon as possible.

In a statement late Wednesday, they sharply criticized Russia’s escalation in Ukraine and spoke out harshly against Putin’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric”.

– The G7 will seek further targeted sanctions and pledge to continue economic and political pressure on Russia, they said in a statement after the meeting, held on the sidelines of the General Assembly United Nations in New York.

The ministers also reiterated the commitment made in early September to impose a cap on Russian oil prices and called on Russia to return control of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to Ukraine.

The G7 countries are made up of the seven richest democratic industrialized countries in the world, namely Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, Germany and the United States.

It was Borrell who urgently convened the meeting between EU foreign ministers on Wednesday, held in New York as ministers are present there as part of the EU’s high-level week. UN.

The background is that Russian President Vladimir Putin announced earlier on Wednesday the partial mobilization of around 300,000 reservists that he will send to the war in Ukraine.

Earlier Wednesday, Borrell accused Putin of threatening world peace and called it a “serious escalation” when the Russian president issued nuclear threats earlier in the day.

Among other things, Putin said he would use all means at his disposal to protect Russia, and that anyone critical of the country should remember that Russia has “weapons of destruction.”

The foreign ministers of the G7 countries also announced that they would introduce new sanctions against Russia.

The EU and G7 countries have already introduced a number of sanctions aimed at putting pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin.