Russian President Vladimir Putin is the latest target of sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, with the US, Canada and European allies announcing they are adding direct measures against him and his foreign minister.
Russia said that relations with the West were reaching a “point of no return.”
With Russian forces on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital yesterday, diplomatic appeals appeared to come second to imposing financial pain on Russia as global condemnation — and frustration — grew.
Photo: EPA-EFE
French naval forces have intercepted in the Channel a cargo vessel loaded with vehicles heading for Russia’s Baltic port city of St Petersburg after sanctions agreed by the EU against Russia, officials said.
The Russian-flagged Baltic Leader, which had set sail from the French city of Rouen, was escorted to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer by French forces, the maritime prefecture told reporters.
It is suspected of belonging to a company targeted by EU sanctions against Moscow, it added.
Photo: AFP
Asked if US President Joe Biden has planned any more direct diplomatic overtures toward Putin, White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday told reporters he had not, but “it does not mean we have ruled out diplomacy forever.”
Psaki said the US was preparing individual sanctions on Putin and Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, likely to include travel bans.
The US would also newly sanction the Russian Direct Investment Fund, which functions as a sovereign wealth fund meant to draw capital into the Russian economy, Psaki said.
The US and European allies earlier announced sweeping asset freezes and other penalties against Russia’s banks, state-owned enterprises and elites.
The US measures block Putin and Lavrov, whom the US Department of the Treasury’s formal announcement of the sanctions described as Putin’s “chief propagandist,” from access to any assets within reach of US officials and bar anyone in the US from doing business with them. Members of Russia’s security council were also sanctioned.
The sanctions to be imposed would not ban contact between, for example, Putin and Biden, or US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Lavrov.
It was unclear what the practical impact on Putin and Lavrov would be and how important their assets in Europe were.
Russia’s relations with the West are reaching “a point of no return,” Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday in comments carried by state media.
EU ministers have said further sanctions are possible, including kicking Russia out of SWIFT, the dominant system for global financial transactions.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada supports the removal of Russia from the SWIFT banking system.
The international measures against Russia have included an extraordinary visit by Pope Francis to the Russian embassy to “express his concern about the war,” the Vatican said.
Separately, the Eurovision song contest banned Russia from the May finals in Italy.
Australia yesterday said it is imposing sanctions against all 339 members of the Russian parliament as well as eight Russian oligarchs close to Putin, and is considering sanctions against Putin and Lavrov.
Japan and South Korea yesterday said their foreign ministers had spoken with Blinken.
However, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi declined to say whether Japan plans to impose sanctions on Putin or Lavrov.
Additional reporting by AFP
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
RSS