•⁠  ⁠Beijing urges against unilateral sanctions, urges EU not to undermine 'legitimate interests' of Chinese companies

ISTANBUL

The EU has approved one of its "strongest" sanctions packages on Russia, including a ban on imports from the Nord Stream pipelines and tighter restrictions on oil exports, the bloc's foreign policy chief said on Friday.

"We are standing firm. The EU just approved one of its strongest sanctions package against Russia to date," Kaja Kallas said on X.

"Nord Stream pipelines (imports) will be banned. A lower oil price cap. We are putting more pressure on Russia’s military industry, Chinese banks that enables sanctions evasion, and blocking tech exports used in drones," she added.

The package also targets 105 more vessels associated with Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and limits Russian banks’ access to international funding mechanisms, Kallas said.

"We’re cutting the Kremlin’s war budget further," she said, referring to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which spurred most of the EU sanctions on Moscow.

Kallas also announced that the EU is designating, for the first time, a foreign flag registry and sanctioning the largest refinery in India owned by Russian firm Rosneft.

“Our sanctions also hit those indoctrinating Ukrainian children,” she said.

“We will keep raising the costs, so stopping the aggression becomes the only path forward for Moscow," she added.

EU leaders hail new package

European Council President Antonio Costa said the new measures are part of ongoing efforts to “cripple” Russia’s ability to continue the war.

“Our support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine is unwavering,” Costa wrote on X.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the latest sanctions as targeting “the heart of Russia's war machine,” pointing to restrictions on banking, energy, and the military-industrial complex.

“The pressure is on. It will stay on until (Russian President Vladimir) Putin ends this war,” von der Leyen said, adding that the package includes a new dynamic oil price cap.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also welcomed the agreement, noting that the sanctions “target banks, energy, and the military industry.”

“This weakens Russia’s ability to continue financing the war against Ukraine. We are keeping up the pressure on Russia,” he said.

French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot said Paris played a key role in advancing the package.

“Together with the United States, we will compel Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire,” he said.

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen also said the bloc is "tightening the knot on Russia by targeting energy revenues, exports, circumvention, and shadow fleet operations.”

Austria's foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, also welcomed the move, saying the new measures strike at “important revenues of the Kremlin” and demonstrate European resolve toward those who continue to subsidize Russia’s war industry.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys underlined the scope of the package, which includes sanctions on more than 100 “shadow fleet” vessels, 22 Russian banks, a ban on Nord Stream 1 and 2 imports, and a tightening of the oil price cap.

"Europe unleashes a sanctions’ strike Russia can’t ignore," Budrys wrote on X, urging the US Senate to follow suit with additional economic pressure on Moscow.

Lithuania, situated between Russia and the Baltic Sea, has a population of under 3 million, compared to Russia’s 144 million.

China's reaction

Following the EU announcement, Beijing urged the bloc not to undermine Chinese enterprises.

"China always opposes unilateral sanctions that are not supported by the international law or the UNSC (Security Council)," Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing.

Lin stressed that China had "never provided" lethal weapons to parties in the Russia-Ukraine war.

"We urge the European side not to undermine the legitimate interests of Chinese companies without reasonable grounds," he said, vowing to safeguard Chinese firms.