The government has
been tasked with enforcement of respective measures.
MOSCOW, July 12.
/TASS/. President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on extension of Russian
countersanctions until December 31, 2019, according to the document published
on the website of legal information on Thursday.
"To extend from
January 1 to December 31, 2019 separate special economic measures stipulated by
the Russian President’s decree dated August 6, 2014," the document said.
The government has been tasked with enforcement of respective measures, and
"proposals on changing … the period of validity of separate special economic
measures to be made if necessary."
In March 2014, the
European Union and a number of countries, including the United States, Canada,
Australia, Japan, Switzerland, New Zealand, Iceland and others, began to impose
sanctions against Russia over the situation in Ukraine. On August 2014, Russian
President signed a decree "On imposing separate special economic measures
ensuring security for the Russian Federation." The government imposed
restrictions on imports of certain goods from the US, the European Union, Norway,
Australia and Canada based on the document the following day. Later the list of
countries was expanded, and the list of goods was revised.
On July 9, the
European Union announced the decision to extend anti-Russia sanctions for
another six months, which was published in the EU Official Journal.
The European Union’s
restrictions on Moscow contain several packages, including economic sanctions,
individual restrictions and Crimea-related sanctions, which are regularly prolonged.
Sectoral sanctions, initially levied on July 31, 2014, concern financial,
energy and defense industries, as well as dual-use goods. Economic sanctions
particularly restrict access to the EU’s primary and secondary capital markets
for five Russian financial institutions and their subsidiaries founded outside
the European Union, in which the state holds a majority stake, as well as for
Russia’s three biggest energy companies and three defense companies.
Sanctions also impose
an embargo on weapons trade and ban exports of dual-use goods for military
purposes to Russia, as well as restrict Russia’s access to certain strategic
technologies and services that may be used for oil exploration and production.
There are also two
sanction packages, which concern the Ukrainian crisis. One of the packages
includes restrictive measures against 150 Russian individuals and 38 entities.
This particular package will expire on September 15, 2018, but it also can be
extended for six months.
Another sanction
package relates to Crimea. It includes a ban on importing Crimean goods, making
investments in Crimea, including real estate purchases, financing businesses,
providing services, particularly in the tourism industry. European vessels are banned
from entering Crimean ports, while European aircraft are prohibited from
landing at Crimea’s airports, except for emergency reasons. These measures are
extended for 12 months.
On June 4, 2018,
Russian President signed the law "On countermeasures against unfriendly
actions of the United States and other foreign countries." According to
the document, the government is empowered to introduce on the basis of the
Russian president’s decision various countermeasures, provided they do not
apply to vital goods not manufactured in Russia and other countries.
Corresponding decisions may also be made by the President on the basis of
proposals from the Security Council.
Source: ITAR-TASS
13-07-2018
