“Given the evolution of the very negative situation on the ground, with the continued and worsening of Russia’s military aggression, we are having the first discussions at the political level about new measures and new sanctions,” said Santos Silva in Brussels, to exit a new meeting of EU foreign ministers intended for military strikes launched by Russia in Ukraine.

The minister mentioned that 27 specifically thought about “new measures of isolation of Russia in international organizations, namely in multilateral financial institutions” and “expanding the list of Russian figures associated with oligarchs and regimes that will be subject to sanctions”.

Santos Silva revealed that the names to be added to the list had already been discussed, pointing out that, “with the full support of Portugal, Poland provided the first additional list”, and now it is necessary “to comply with the special rules of legal procedure in the HUH room”.

“But of course in the coming days or weeks we will add to the list of Russians who are being sanctioned for being politically, militarily or economically linked to the Russian regime. [o Presidente russo Vladimir] Putin is a new individual or legal entity,” he said.

The minister added that “the extension of economic sanctions was also discussed, namely related to the prohibition of access to SWIFT or the prohibition of economic or financial transactions in the European space”.

Santos Silva stressed that what is on the table “does not create a new sanctions framework, but adds to the measures already approved” by the EU “new entities, whether oligarchs, banks, other Russian companies or economic entities” with respect to which the EU considers “that it is necessary to sanction them in light of their responsibility in the current aggression”.

Asked how Portugal implemented in practice the sanctions agreed upon between the 27, the minister replied that the Portuguese authorities complied with them “immediately and completely”.

“As you know, there was an application for an investment residence permit by a Russian national which was immediately suspended. As a precaution, we also suspended all processes involving Russian citizens, precisely because the sanctions regime is dynamic,” he said.

Augusto Santos Silva added that Portugal had also implemented “the ban that has been imposed with respect to a number of Russian banks in accessing the SWIFT international payment system” and, “with regard to energy”, he reiterated that “dependence on relations to Russia is residual in the gas and , in the oil sector, Portuguese companies that buy oil from Russia [Galp] already stated yesterday or the day after that it would stop doing it”.

The head of Portuguese diplomacy also stressed the importance of “now taking care of the complete implementation of the sanctions and measures” that have been agreed “and evaluating their effect”, given that this is a “very important phase”, as it is necessary “to ensure that they are fully implemented on the ground, that the deficiencies, that ‘ holes’ which are always there are repaired and filled properly”.

Augusto Santos Silva participated today in Brussels in separate meetings between the Foreign Ministers of NATO and the European Union, both held in an extended format. The heads of diplomacy of the European Union, Finland and Sweden were also invited to the Atlantic Alliance meeting, and the heads of diplomacy of the United States, Britain and Canada and the secretary general of BORN.

In the early hours of February 24, Russia launched a three-pronged military offensive in Ukraine, with ground troops and bombing of several cities. The Kiev authorities have so far caused more than 2,000 civilian deaths, including children, and, according to the United Nations, the attacks have displaced more than 1.2 million refugees in Poland, Hungary, Moldova and Romania, among other countries. .

Russian President Vladimir Putin justified the “special military operation” in Ukraine with the need to demilitarize the neighboring country, saying it was the only way for Russia to defend itself and ensure that the offensive would last as long as necessary.

The attack was condemned by the international community at large, and the European Union and the United States, among others, responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and strengthening economic sanctions to further isolate Moscow.

ACC // PAL

The day after tomorrow/Late