France reveals scope of new anti-Russian sanctions

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has announced a new package of restrictive measures that comes into effect on Sunday. Le Drian flagged the “scope of the consequences of sanctions” being imposed by the EU on Russia over the military offensive in Ukraine.

The new penalties will come into force “as soon as the ambassadors agree to simultaneously ban imports of steel products from Russia, exports of luxury goods to Russia, and prohibit any investment in oil production and refineries in the country,” the foreign minister said in an interview aired on France Inter.

Le Drian also said that the new package of punitive measures is expanding the list of sanctioned high-profile individuals, adding that the bloc had never agreed to similar steps so quickly.

Earlier, Brussels announced an emergency meeting of the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) to agree on the forthcoming package of sanctions against Russia, which follows the launch of its military operation in the neighboring Ukraine.

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