Media: EU sanctions may lose impact if US lifts restrictions on Russia

The effectiveness of the European Union’s sanctions against Russia could be severely undermined if the United States decides to lift its own sanctions as part of a potential peace deal regarding Ukraine. 

According to a report by EUobserver, the EU’s restrictive measures would lose significant impact if the US were to cancel its sanctions, despite the EU’s continued enforcement of its blacklists.

“If the US was to cancel its Russia sanctions as part of a Ukraine deal, it would make EU blacklists toothless on their own, although the EU could still hold on to €200bn of frozen Russian assets," the publication notes.

While the EU is poised to adopt its 16th round of sanctions against Russia next week, which will target 48 individuals and 35 entities—up from the initial proposal of 34 individuals and 18 entities in January—the new measures are unlikely to include major Russian oligarchs. Instead, the sanctions focus on minor officials and entities involved in Russia’s military and propaganda efforts. The EU’s actions include visa bans, asset freezes, and restrictions on Russian media, banks, and aluminium imports.

By Vugar Khalilov