The United States and the European Union may introduce new sanctions against Russia due to the seizure of Ukrainian ships

The United States and the European Union are close to agreeing on new sanctions against Russia - this time against individuals and companies that participated in the detention of Ukrainian ships in the Kerch Strait, the Financial Times reported.

Фото: Depositphotos

Western countries are close to agreeing on new sanctions against Russia in response to the incident with the Ukrainian ships in the Sea of ​​Azov, the newspaper reported Financial Times with reference to sources, they write Ведомости. According to their data, new restrictive measures will be discussed at the February meeting of the EU foreign ministers 18 and may come into force in the next two months.

One of the interlocutors of the publication specified that the sanctions would be directed against those individuals and companies who "participated in the seizure by Russia of three Ukrainian naval vessels in the Kerch Strait".

Information confirms the British television channel Sky News. According to his sources, the European Union and the United States intend to "coordinate their actions to increase pressure on the regime of President Vladimir Putin," introducing new sanctions in response to the detention of Ukrainian sailors. Restrictive measures may be announced in the coming weeks, said three interlocutors of the channel.

Last November Russian border guards detained in the Kerch Strait two Ukrainian artillery boats and a longboat, which crossed the Russian border and moved in the direction of the Kerch bridge, were arrested by their crews. According to the Russian side, the ships crossed the border illegally, dangerously maneuvered and did not obey the requirements of the frontier service. Ukraine claims that the ships requested permission to pass under the bridge in the prescribed manner, but did not receive a response from Russian border guards.

The detained sailors (24 people) remain in custody in Russia, they are kept in the Lefortovo detention center in Moscow. They were charged with illegally crossing the border. Ukrainian authorities consider arrested sailors to be prisoners of war.

US President Donald Trump and the leaders of the EU countries have repeatedly appealed to the Russian authorities to release the Ukrainian ships and sailors. Trump in connection with the incident in the Kerch Strait canceled meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which was to be held in December on the margins of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires. The White House ruled out the possibility of a new meeting of the leaders of Russia and the United States before the liberation of the Ukrainian ships.

The European Union extended economic sanctions against Russia in December, justifying this by “zero progress” in the implementation of the Minsk agreements. The European Council President Donald Tusk, after the conflict in the Black Sea, expressed confidence that the sanctions against Russia would be extended, because "Europe is united in supporting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine."

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