Moscow has prolonged foreign trade restrictions, while Brussels has extended sanctions against Moscow for another six months
The Moscow Kremlin © Sputnik / Vitaly Belousov
Russia extended its trade restrictions on so-called “unfriendly” countries until December 31, 2025 on Thursday, the same day that the EU announced it was renewing economic sanctions against Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree extending curbs on trade in goods and raw materials with the US and other countries that have imposed sanctions against Moscow until the end of 2025. The document was published on the government’s official site for legal information.
Moscow’s restrictions were first introduced in March 2022, shortly after the start of the military operation in Ukraine and the launch of a Western sanctions campaign targeting Russia. Aimed at protecting Russia’s security, the decree was initially valid until the end of 2022 and later extended until the end of this year.
The document bans the export from Russia of goods such as technological, telecommunications and medical equipment, vehicles, agricultural machinery, and electrical equipment, and of certain raw materials included on a government list.
The European Council – part of the EU executive – in turn announced on Thursday that it had decided to prolong by six months, until 31 January 2024, the “restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation.”
According to a release published on the European Council’s website, the measures consist of “restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods.”
They also cover a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, the blocking of several Russian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system, and the suspension of the broadcasting activities and licenses of several Russian media outlets.
The EU first introduced sanctions against Russia in 2014 in response to events in Crimea. The peninsula became part of Russia following a referendum, after the region refused to support the coup that overthrew Ukraine’s elected government.
The EU has significantly raised sanctions pressure since February 2022, imposing 11 consecutive rounds of “unprecedented and hard-hitting” restrictions against Moscow. According to various reports, however, the EU has largely exhausted its potential for further economic pressure on Russia.
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