Cities of the world. Brussels. File photoBRUSSELS, May 31.Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo believes that the EU countries should «pause» further sanctions against Russia and look at the consequences of the measures already taken. On the eve of the first day of the EU summit in Brussels, the leaders agreed on the imposition of a partial oil embargo against Russia, unblocking thus the introduction of the sixth package of anti-Russian sanctions, which will also include disconnecting three Russian banks from SWIFT, including Sberbank, a ban on broadcasting three Russian TV channels in the EU, as well as individual sanctions. It is expected that a new package of sanctions may be agreed upon in the coming days.Scholz urged the European Union to «act together» against Russia «On the part of Belgium, I believe that the sixth package was a big step forward, and I believe that we should now pause. It is necessary to put this package into action and look at its consequences,» he said de Croo before the start of the second day of the EU summit in Brussels, which will discuss defense and food security. The Belgian prime minister also expressed confidence that «the decision on the embargo on Russian gas will be even more difficult to agree.» The EU countries have already successively introduced five packages of sanctions against the Russian Federation because of the situation in Ukraine. The adoption of the sixth EU package was delayed due to the refusal of a number of countries, in particular Hungary, to support a complete renunciation of oil purchases. Earlier it was reported that the European Union agreed to exclude supplies via the Druzhba oil pipeline from the draft sanctions in order to enlist the support of Budapest. The consent of all EU members is required for sanctions to be adopted.Russia's Permanent Representative commented on the EU's decision on the oil embargoIn total, personal sanctions on Ukraine were imposed against more than a thousand individuals and 80 organizations. We are talking about the Russian leadership, including all members of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, other leading politicians, representatives of the media, the Federation Council and the State Duma, businessmen, heads of large companies. Personal sanctions include a ban on entry into the territory of EU countries and an asset freeze. In addition, the European Union closed the skies for Russian airlines and banned the sale and maintenance of airliners from the Russian Federation. Diplomats and holders of official passports lost visa privileges in the European Union. Europeans were also banned from transferring technology for Russian oil refineries and investing in the Russian energy sector. In addition, a number of sanctions were imposed against the ferrous metallurgy sector. The Europeans also banned the export of luxury goods to Russia, for example, cars, the price of which exceeds 50 thousand euros. The new restrictive measures also include a ban on the import of coal from Russia, starting from August 2022, a ban on the entry of ships flying the Russian flag into EU ports, restrictions on motor transport companies in Russia and Belarus. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of containing and weakening Russia — this is a long-term strategy of the West, and the sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire world economy. According to him, the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people. Putin also said that the United States and the European Union had effectively defaulted on their obligations to Russia, freezing its foreign exchange reserves. He added that the current events draw a line under the global dominance of the West in both politics and economics.
