A US-backed plan to ban all exports to Russia from G7 countries has been branded “unworkable” by other nations within the alliance, as both Washington and Brussels plan further sanctions.
The FT reports that diplomats from the EU and Japan have said that the plan remains unfeasible during preparatory meetings for a summit, due to take place next month.
Last week, Bloomberg reported that G7 officials were in preliminary discussions over the Americans’ proposal to ban almost all exports to Russia, representing a significant increase in economic pressure.
It is likely that medicines and agricultural products would be exempt from this ban, as is currently the case.
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council and former prime minister under Russian president Vladmir Putin, has threatened to pull out of the Black Sea initiative, which guarantees the safe passage of grain from Ukrainian ports, in response.
While the true impact of sanctions on the Russian economy and war effort is still unclear, there are numerous complaints from the US government and beyond that there are too many loopholes in the existing framework.
US Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Brian Nelsen, recently shared some of the methods used by the Russian government to evade sanctions with European allies during a tour of the continent, according to a press release.