Russia defended this Saturday that the ninth package of sanctions against Moscow, approved this week by the European Union (EU), will only aggravate the economic problems of the 27 countries of the community.
“The current package will have the same effect as the previous ones: an aggravation of social and economic problems in the European Union itself,” Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in a statement.
Russian diplomacy alleges that the EU “cannot get out of this vicious circle”, recalling the “futility” of the anti-Russian policy, and warning that the 27 countries will face an “unprecedented energy deficit”.
“The painful consequences of the EU’s anti-Russian policy will increase, and not without the collaboration of the US, which participates as the main beneficiary of the security crisis on the European continent and the collapse of economic and trade relations between the EU and Russia. . “Zakharova explained in the statement.
For Russian diplomacy, the sanctions applied to Moscow will cause “significant damage” to developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, which cannot compete for resources with Western countries.
For this reason, the Russian government once again appeals to the EU to lift all restrictions affecting the supply of cereals, food and fertilizers to the world market.
Zakharova also took the opportunity to attack the suspension of licenses of four Russian television channels -NTV/NTV Mir, Rossiya 1, REN TV and Channel 1- arguing that this measure is aimed at censoring “uncomfortable” media and that it violates freedom of expression. .
On Friday, the EU formally adopted the ninth package of sanctions against Russia over its military aggression against Ukraine, which includes measures to make it more difficult for Russian forces to access drones and unblock the export of fertilizers.
This package was approved on Thursday night by the Council of the EU, at the level of ambassadors of the 27, meeting in parallel to the summit of Heads of State and Government also held on Thursday in Brussels, and in which they approved macro-financial aid. assistance to Ukraine by 2023, for a global amount of 18,000 million euros.
This ninth package of sanctions adds to the list of targets more than 200 people and entities, including the Armed Forces, as well as defense companies linked to the Kremlin (Russian Presidency), members of the Russian Parliament and the Federation Council, ministers, governors and political parties. . .
A total of 1,241 people and 118 entities are covered by the EU sanctions list, which covers asset freezes and travel bans.
Source: TSF
