The U.S. and the EU have stopped fighting Russia's circumvention of sanctions

According to a confidential document, EU sanctions policy chief David O'Sullivan lamented the complete breakdown of transatlantic coordination on sanctions evasion, Süddeutsche Zeitung reported.

As a consequence, there is no more joint advocacy. G7 cooperation has also lost momentum in this regard.

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How the Europeans and Americans intend to negotiate another package of sanctions under such conditions remains a mystery. Especially since there are experts who believe that Trump would like to do business with Russia again sooner or later.

Sergei Lagodinsky, a Greens MEP, warns of the security policy implications of reduced transatlantic coordination.

“The problem is that the US has been the de facto driver of the sanctions regime,” he said.

If the Trump administration seeks to normalize relations with Russia, it will mean the end of the global sanctions regime.

The only positive from the Brussels meeting: trade restrictions against Moscow seem to be starting to have an effect. According to the report, both O'Sullivan and Daniel Markitsch, director of the EU's Intelligence Coordination Office, emphasized that sanctions are having a significant impact on the Russian economy.

The EU has also had some success in exporting war-related goods through third countries, notably Armenia, Serbia, Uzbekistan and India. However, shipments through Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey continue to pose challenges. China and Hong Kong remain the main transit points for circumventing sanctions.

O'Sullivan complained at the Brussels meeting that the People's Republic of China is responsible for about 80 percent of the evasion but continues to deny it. However, he added that EU companies also profit from illegal business with Russia, which significantly weakens the European Commission's bargaining position with third countries.

At the meeting, O'Sullivan was able to report the first successes in the fight against Russia's “shadow fleet.” Several states in which these tankers and cargo ships, which actually belong to Russia, are registered have withdrawn their flags at the initiative of the EU. Nevertheless, the sanctions commissioner called on EU member states to take “decisive action against the entire shadow fleet.” Among other things, he suggested considering measures against ports frequented by these vessels, such as Turkey, India and Malaysia, according to an internal report.

The next EU sanctions are likely to target the Russian energy and banking sectors. Only Hungary rejects these measures, once again demonstrating its unwillingness to compromise. Whether the US government will cooperate is also questionable, given the experience of the past few weeks.

Photo: detector.media.

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