BRUSSELS : EU countries approved a 19th package of sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine that includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports, the Danish rotating presidency of the EU said on Wednesday. “We are very pleased to announce that we have just been notified by the remaining member state that it’s now able to lift its reservation on the 19th sanctions package,” it said.
Slovakia was the final holdout after EU countries agreed on the final text last week. Slovakia’s Prime Minister Fico wanted
assurances
from the European Commission on high energy prices and aligning climate targets with the needs of carmakers and heavy industry.
A Slovak diplomat said the country’s demands were met in new clauses added to the final communique for the EU leaders summit on Thursday. “Consequently, a written procedure for Council approval has been launched. If no objections are received, the package will be adopted tomorrow by 8 am,” it added. The LNG ban will take effect in two stages: short-term contracts will end after six months and long-term contracts from January 1, 2027. The full ban comes a year earlier than the Commission’s proposed roadmap to end the bloc’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels.
The new package also adds new travel restrictions on Russian diplomats and lists 117 more vessels from Moscow’s shadow fleet, mostly tankers, bringing the total to 558. The listings include banks in Kazakhstan and Belarus, the presidency said.
EU diplomatic sources told Reuters that four entities linked to China’s oil industry will be listed but the names will not be made public until the official adoption on Thursday. These include two oil refineries, a trading company and an entity which helps in the circumvention in oil and other sectors.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff welcomed the approval of the new EU sanctions package, saying many of Kyiv’s proposals had been incorporated into it.
“But we are not stopping. Package no. 20 is already in the works,” Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram. “The logic is simple — less money in Russia means fewer missiles in Ukraine.”
EU approves 19th package of Russian sanctions including LNG ban
https://arab.news/ny925
EU approves 19th package of Russian sanctions including LNG ban
- Sanctions include travel restrictions, vessel listings, and Chinese entities
- LNG ban starts in two stages, ending reliance on Russian fuels
- Slovakia lifts reservation after energy price assurances
Cuba says a 5th person died after people on a Florida-flagged speedboat opened fire on soldiers
- Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops
- The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities
HAVANA: Cuba said a fifth person has died as a consequence of a fatal shootout last month involving a Florida-flagged speedboat that allegedly opened fire on soldiers in waters off the island nation’s north coast.
The island’s interior ministry said late Thursday in a statement that Roberto Álvarez Ávila died on March 4 as a result of his injuries. It added that the remaining injured detainees “continue to receive specialized medical care according to their health status.”
Authorities in Cuba said that on Feb. 26 Cuban soldiers confronted a speedboat carrying 10 people as the vessel approached the island and opened fire on the troops. They said the passengers were armed Cubans living in the US who were trying to infiltrate the island and “unleash terrorism”. Cuba said its soldiers killed four people and wounded six others.
“The statements made by the detainees themselves, together with a series of investigative procedures, reinforce the evidence against them,” the Cuban interior ministry said in its statement, adding that “new elements are being obtained that establish the involvement of other individuals based in the US”
Earlier this week, Cuba said it had filed terrorism charges against six suspects that were on the speedboat. The government unveiled items said to have been found on the boat, including a dozen high-powered weapons, more than 12,800 pieces of ammunition and 11 pistols.
Cuban authorities have provided few details about the shooting, but said the boat was roughly 1.6 kilometers (1 mile) northeast of Cayo Falcones, off the country’s north coast. They also provided the boat’s registration number, but The Associated Press was unable to readily verify the details because boat registrations are not public in the state of Florida.
The shooting threatened to increase tensions between US President Donald Trump and Cuban authorities. The island’s economy was until recently largely kept economically afloat by Venezuela’s oil, which is now in doubt after a US military operation deposed then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
