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EU Eyes Sanctions on Ports in Georgia and Indonesia Handling Russian Oil
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The European Union has proposed expanding its sanctions against Russia to include ports in Georgia and Indonesia that handle Russian oil, marking the first time the bloc would target port facilities in third countries, according to a proposal document reviewed by Reuters on February 9.
The draft measures would add the ports of Kulevi in Georgia and Karimun in Indonesia to the EU sanctions list, barring EU companies and individuals from conducting transactions with either facility.
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The move is part of the EU’s planned 20th sanctions package over Russia’s war in Ukraine, jointly prepared by the EU’s diplomatic service and the European Commission and presented to member states on February 9. EU sanctions require unanimous approval to become law.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the package would include sector-wide restrictions and a shift from the G7 price cap toward a full maritime-services ban on Russian crude, according to Reuters.
The proposed package also introduces new import bans on metals and raw materials, including nickel bars, iron ores and concentrates, unrefined and processed copper, and various scrap metals such as aluminium. Other goods listed for prohibition include salt, ammonia, pebbles, silicon, and furskins.
In a first use of the EU’s anti-circumvention tool against a third country, the proposal would restrict exports of metal-cutting machines and communications equipment such as modems and routers to Kyrgyzstan.
The EU also proposed adding several banks to its sanctions framework, including Kyrgyz lenders Keremet and OJSC Capital Bank of Central Asia, accused of providing crypto-asset services to Russia, alongside banks in Laos and Tajikistan, while removing two Chinese lenders.
Separately, the EEAS proposed asset freezes and travel bans for 30 individuals and 64 companies. These include Bashneft, a subsidiary of Rosneft, as well as eight Russian refineries, among them the Rosneft-controlled Tuapse and Syzran plants. The proposal does not list Rosneft or Lukoil, which have already been hit by US sanctions.
Earlier, India’s Coast Guard had detained three tankers sanctioned by the United States for transporting Iranian oil.
The interception took place roughly 160 kilometers west of Mumbai, where Indian authorities stopped three vessels considered suspicious. They were identified as STELLAR RUBY (IMO 9555199), ASPHALT STAR (IMO 9463528), and AL JAFZIA (IMO 9171498).
