Page 11 - RusRPTOct22

authorities announced an unscheduled meeting of the Duma on October 3 that is seen as the possible date for the annexations to be ratified by the Russian parliament.
"We do not accept the sham referenda (in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine) nor any kind of annexation...And we are determined to make the Kremlin pay the price for this further escalation," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, reports Reuters.
"We are proposing a new package of biting sanctions." The Group of Seven major industrialised countries - which includes EU countries Italy, France and Germany - have already agreed to put an oil price cap in place via insurers.
Ukraine has been adamant that the EU significantly tighten sanctions on Russia.
"If you are doing nothing it means you are just prolonging this war with Ukraine. This is just ridiculous. The whole civilised world has to be united on that," said Oleg Ustenko, advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
While the US has already banned the import of diamonds, the EU has shied away from the same measure as Russian diamonds are so important to Antwerp and the Belgium economy. Russian diamonds continue
to be exported to international markets, including the US, as reported by bne IntelliNews.
However, the new sanctions package will ease restrictions on Russian exports of coal and other essential raw materials like cement and fertilisers, where the EU is struggling to replace Russian supplies.
Hungary has resisted attempts to carry through on a proposed total ban on Russian oil imports that is slated to come into effect on December 5. Other EU countries with large shipping fleets including Greece, Malta and Cyprus have also resisted the ban. Russia exports three quarters of its oil by ship and Greece alone accounts for 55% of the business, according to Institute of International Finance (IIF).
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc was also blacklisting more individuals from Russia's defence sector and officials involved in organising the Ukrainian referenda.
Poland's EU ambassador said the proposed individual sanctions would include Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and a close Kremlin ally, after previous attempts to blacklist him in the EU were blocked by Hungary.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said a new imports ban targeting a longer list of goods and services would cost Russia €7bn in lost revenues and that the EU would also expand the list of prohibited exports "to deprive the Kremlin's war machine of key technologies".
11 RUSSIA Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com