Berlin's demands slow progress on additional EU sanctions for Russia

The German leadership is blocking the progress of negotiations on a new package of European Union (EU) sanctions against Russia.

Berlin's reflections are the main reason why the restrictions have not yet been agreed upon, the DPA news agency quoted diplomatic sources as saying.

Moreover, according to journalists, Germany has sent several requests for changes to the new package of sanctions.

"The [German] federal government is blocking progress in negotiations on the next package of EU sanctions against Russian Federation," the article said.

At the same time, the authors of the publication specified that this time the restrictions will be aimed at combating "circumvention" of the already existing anti-Russian sanctions. The regional commonwealth also intends for the first time to impose severe restrictions on businesses in Russia, whose activities are somehow related to liquefied natural gas (LNG). In particular, the European Commission plans to ban fuel shipment from several seaports in the EU to third countries.

The agency sources emphasised that Berlin was concerned about measures to combat "circumvention" of restrictions. One of the demands of the German authorities during the negotiations was the exclusion from the package of sanctions of the clause on prosecution of affiliates of companies if they violated the restrictions.