Politico: The US has identified five countries that help Russia circumvent sanctions. Further restrictions are under discussion

The United States has identified five countries that help Russia circumvent sanctions. These are Turkey, Kazakhstan, Georgia, the United Arab Emirates and Armenia.

This was stated by the coordinator of sanctions at the US State Department Jim OʼBrien, writes Politico.

According to OʼBrien, exports of key microchips and electronics used in weapons production have returned to pre-war levels. In his opinion, the problem is that European companies sell their goods to other countries, which then resell them to Russia.

Currently, the EU is discussing the eleventh package of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Ten previous packages were focused on slowing down the Russian economy. Brussels is now seeking to remove loopholes to bypass sanctions. The new package could target countries that help Russia evade trade embargoes.

Four EU diplomats told Politico that EU representatives did not agree on new sanctions at the June 7 meeting. Greece and Hungary are still blocking new measures because of Ukraineʼs list of war sponsors. Athens and Budapest are demanding that some of their companies be removed from the list before they agree to sanctions.

According to the publication, several other EU countries, in particular Germany and France, are concerned about the future struggle with the circumvention of sanctions. They fear that it could harm diplomatic relations.

According to Politicoʼs sources, the European Commission presented a different version of the sanctions proposal before the June 7 meeting, but it did not help to reach an agreement. EU ambassadors will discuss the proposal again at a meeting on June 14.

• In early April, the Ukrainian president and the head of the European Commission discussed the implementation of the next, 11th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation. Subsequently, the EU Commissioner for Financial Affairs announced that new restrictive measures are ready. McGuinness said that Brussels will not only introduce additional sanctions against Moscow, but will also try to ensure effective enforcement of the sanctions to make it more difficult for individuals and legal entities to circumvent them.
• The eleventh package of sanctions against Russia aims to eliminate sanctions loopholes. Also in it, the European Commission proposes to prohibit ships trying to circumvent sanctions on Russian oil from entering European ports, and to punish those involved in the export of cultural values from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.