Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho said in Brussels on Monday afternoon that “a political agreement already exists” on the tenth sanctions package against Russia, which “will be approved later this week”.
João Gomes Cravinho adds that the sanctions package “will include a hundred new persons or entities, and will also include an export ban, probably worth about 11 billion euros, exports of parts and equipment that indirectly contribute to the Russian military’s effort” .
For now, all that remains is to finalize “the technical details”, in a largely negotiated package that will be extended to Iran, which will also be one of the targets of the European Union’s punitive measures.
“Seven Iranian entities involved in the production of drones will be sanctioned, which will then be sent to Russia,” Minister Gomes Cravinho revealed.
This package of sanctions will not yet include nuclear power. “The focus is not on nuclear,” said the minister, who admitted that “nuclear will of course have to be considered in the future”.
One of the controversial subjects in the European measures is the possibility of sanctioning the diamond trade, but the minister guarantees that these will be included in the sanctions package this time.
“There are still many aspects to be defined, but there is clearly no reason for us to exclude diamonds,” said João Gomes Cravinho, even guaranteeing that “diamonds will be considered.”
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Speaking to journalists in Brussels, João Gomes Cravinho also believed that US President Joe Biden’s visit to Kiev sends “two messages” to Russian President Vladimir Putin, “the only one who still does not understand that he is going to this war to lose ” .
“There are times when gestures are more eloquent than long speeches and President Biden’s visit is particularly eloquent in sending two messages,” he said, first “a message of solidarity and support for Ukraine, for the Ukrainian people” and second “a message that is very clear also to President Putin in the sense of what most of the world has already understood, but it seems that he still does not understand, that he will not win this war”.
“I think President Biden’s visit shows very clearly that we are very united, the United States, in the European Union, in relation to Ukraine and we will not let Ukraine fall,” said João Gomes Cravinho.
Asked if he shares concerns with the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Policy about the possible shipment of weapons to Russia, Cravinho says the EU “has no information that would allow us to say that China will do this “.
“China has said it does not support Russia militarily and our belief is that China should keep its word. It would be extremely negative for China to support Russia militarily and it would obviously put China in a very different light when it comes to relations with the European Union,” he said.
Source: DN
