G7 countries pledged on Sunday to ban or phase out imports of Russian oil, and the United States announced sanctions against Gazprombank executives and other companies to punish Moscow for its war on Ukraine.
The move represents the West’s latest attempt to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin for his country’s invasion of Ukraine and the deadly consequences of that decision.
President Joe Biden joined G7 leaders in a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to discuss the war, support for Ukraine and additional measures against Moscow, including energy.
“We are committed to gradually eliminating our dependence on Russian energy, including eliminating or banning the import of Russian oil. We will ensure that we do so in a timely and orderly manner,” the G7 leaders said in a joint statement. “We will work together and with our partners to ensure stable and sustainable global energy supplies and affordable prices for consumers.”
Meanwhile, the United States has released sanctions against three Russian television stations, banned Americans from providing accounting and consulting services to Russians, and imposed some 2,600 visa restrictions on Russian and Belarusian officials.
The measures taken against Gazprombank executives were the first involving the Russian gas export giant, as the United States and its allies have avoided actions that could disrupt gas supplies to Europe, Russia’s main customer.
Among the sanctioned Gazprombank executives are Alexy Miller and Andrey Akimov, according to a statement from the US Treasury Department.
“This is not a complete lockdown. We are not freezing Gazprombank’s assets or banning any transactions with Gazprombank,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters. “What we are signaling is that Gazprombank is not a safe haven and therefore we are sanctioning some of its top business executives … to create a moderating effect.”
Biden, who praised the union of Western leaders to face Russian President Vladimir Putin, met by videoconference from his home in Delaware, where he spends the weekend.
The meeting takes place ahead of the Russian Victory Day celebrations on Monday. Putin calls the current invasion a “special military operation” to disarm Ukraine and rid it of anti-Russian nationalism fostered by the West. Ukraine and its allies say Russia has launched a war without provocation.
The United States and Europe have imposed crushing sanctions on Russia since its invasion, targeting banks, companies and individuals in an attempt to squeeze the Russian economy and limit the resources used to wage war.
Eight executives at Sberbank, which owns a third of Russia’s banking assets, have been added to the latest US sanctions list. The Industrial Bank of Moscow and its ten subsidiaries were also included.
“Taken together, today’s measures are a continuation of Russia’s systematic and methodical removal from the global financial and economic system. And the message is that there will be no safe haven for the Russian economy if Putin’s invasion continues,” the US official said. .
The new export control restrictions aim to directly degrade Putin’s war effort, including controls on industrial engines, tractors, wood products, engines and fans. The European Union is jointly implementing new controls on chemicals that directly feed the Russian military effort, the official said.
The limited liability company Promtekhnologiya, a weapons manufacturer, was sanctioned, along with seven shipping companies and one maritime towage company. The White House also said the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would suspend export licenses for special nuclear material to Russia.
The sanctioned television stations are directly or indirectly controlled by the state, the White House said, and include the Joint Stock Company’s Channel One Russia, Television Station Russia-1 and the Joint Stock Company’s NTV Broadcasting Company.
Americans will be banned from providing accounting, company formation and fund and management consulting services to Russians, although the provision of legal services will still be permitted.
Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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