EU ambassadors approved the 16th package of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on Russian aluminium imports and export restrictions, Politico reported.
The new package unveiled on Wednesday is also expected to be approved by EU ministers at a regular meeting next Monday, the three-year anniversary of the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
The package will reportedly include shadow fleet ships, bans on exports of chemicals, chromium and other products used in precision machine tools. The prohibition will also affect the servicing of oil and gas refineries.
Russian downstream aluminium products are already blocked, but the European Commission has proposed a ban on primary aluminium as well. A certain threshold of imports will still be allowed for some time before a full ban comes into effect later.
However, the 16th package of sanctions does not contain a complete ban on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG). Earlier, some EU countries pressured the Commission to forbid LNG from Russia amid a recent rise in EU purchases.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s administration and Brussels are reportedly refraining from banning Russian LNG until a potential deal to buy more US liquefied natural gas is reached.
