Kyiv denies "collapse" of US-EU cooperation on sanctions, reported by German media
The Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy of Ukraine, Vladyslav Vlasyuk, has denied information from some German media outlets, in particular Süddeutsche Zeitung, which reported on the termination of cooperation between the US and the EU in the field of countering the circumvention of Russian sanctions. He wrote about this on his Facebook page.
According to him, despite the difficulties, it is incorrect to talk about a "breakdown of cooperation."
"I communicate with the Americans who impose sanctions, and I saw them twice in three weeks at joint working meetings in Europe, where they discussed both circumventing sanctions and tightening sanctions. Is it the same "impulse" that was there? No, but solely due to the political context. Has there been a "breakdown of cooperation"? Absolutely not," he wrote.
Vlasyuk noted that, as before, there is an active exchange of information and ideas within the sanctions coalition.
"Everyone is more or less aware of the plans of others. The British are preparing sanctions. The EU is preparing the 18th package. It will be difficult for the EU to get a "+" from Hungary on the extension of sanctions without the US. The prepared US packages concern the shadow fleet and circumvention of sanctions, as does the EU," he said.
Earlier, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that negotiations between the European Union and the United States on a joint fight against Moscow's evasion of sanctions have failed. The publication learned about this after reviewing an internal report from the German Foreign Ministry.
The report was prepared by the German diplomatic service after the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting, which took place on May 20 in Brussels.
According to a confidential document, the EU's sanctions chief, David O'Sullivan, reported "a complete breakdown of transatlantic coordination on Russian sanctions evasion."
According to him, joint information and educational work has stopped. G-7 cooperation in this regard has also "lost momentum".
- The Council of the European Union on May 20 adopted the 17th package of sanctions against Russia for its full-scale aggression against Ukraine. The new package of sanctions covers almost 200 vessels of the shadow fleet. Restrictions were also imposed on three Russian organizations involved in the development and use of chemical weapons . On the same day, the United Kingdom expanded sanctions against Moscow in response to the largest drone attack on Ukraine.
- Europe has previously promised to join the US in imposing new restrictions on Russia if it does not agree to a ceasefire. However, there have been no new sanctions from the US yet, although Trump has said he might .
- On May 25, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful called for the West to respond with additional sanctions to the latest wave of Russian attacks on Ukraine.
