More than half of the reserves of the Central Bank of Russia will be blocked as part of the new sanctions of the European Union against the country, as announced on Sunday (27) the main diplomat of the EU, Josep Borrell.
Speaking alongside European Commission chief Ursula Von der Leyen in Brussels, Borrell further said he would provide political endorsement from the bloc’s 27 member states for a new sanctions package against the Russians.
“With these measures, more than half of the reserves of the Central Bank of Russia will be blocked”, declared Borrell.
Under the package, “major Russian banks will be excluded from the Swift system,” Von der Leyen said. The Swift system is an international cooperation that connects financial institutions in more than 200 countries, controlled by the central banks of the nations that make up the G10, the group of the 10 largest economies in the world.
Measures against neighboring Belarus will also be “strengthened”, Borrell said, in exchange for his role in “facilitating the Russian attack on Ukraine”.
Von der Leyen also announced that the EU will provide funding for the purchase of weapons for Ukraine, adding that this is the first time the bloc has done so.
Borrell said the EU is doing this “because this war requires our engagement to support the Ukrainian army”.
“We asked for Swift and we asked for weapons and now we are delivering on both sides,” the diplomat noted.
See images of Russia’s attack on Ukraine
Source: CNN Brasil

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