BRUSSELS, June 10. /TASS/. The new EU sanctions package will include a ban on the use of the exploded Nord Stream pipelines, blacklisting banks and tankers, banning the EU countries from buying Russian oil and an attempt to lower the price cap for it, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said at a briefing in Brussels, presenting the draft of the 18th sanctions package.
"We will step up pressure on Russia including though further robust sanctions. Therefore, we are now proposing the 18t package of hard biting sanctions. We are targeting basically two sectors - the Russian energy and banking sectors," she said.
The sanctions will include a ban on European businesses from any transactions related to Nord Stream, blacklisting 77 tankers that transport oil despite attempts to impose a price cap, lowering the price cap for Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel, blacklisting another 22 banks with a complete ban on transactions in the EU, and the introduction of new restrictions on the export of dual-use products and technologies to Russia.
Von der Leyen also tried to present the 18th package of sanctions as a way to force Russia to the negotiating table, despite the fact that they had started to develop these sanctions before the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine began. She did not mention any mechanisms or scenarios that would suggest the possibility of changing the sanctions regime.
