EU Approves New Round of Sanctions on Russia

The European Union (EU) imposed a seventh package of sanctions against Moscow that includes a ban on Russian gold imports. “We are effectively banning Russia's most important export after energy: Russian gold,” the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, announced Thursday.“

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Thus, this new package of sanctions prohibits the direct and indirect purchase, import, transformation of gold, if it has been exported from Russia to the EU or any third country. The same measure will apply to jewelry.

This seventh package of the bloc's sanctions also tightens export controls on some high-tech products that could contribute “

to the military and technological advancement" of the Eurasian country, in addition to extending the ban on access to ports.

In reaction, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denounced the anti-Russian measure, saying it leads the EU itself into a stalemate.

 “The EU remains obstinate in bringing itself to a stalemate. Against the background of the futility [...] of the policy of long-term pressure on Russia, the devastating consequences of the EU sanctions exercise for various segments of the world economy and security, including EU member states, are becoming increasingly evident,” she stressed.

Since the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine on February 24, the European Union and its Western allies have imposed a wave of restrictive measures against the Eurasian country, including freezing the assets of the Russian Central Bank and announcing sanctions against Putin and other Russian authorities.

Russia, in turn, has vowed to respond sternly to the Western sanctions, warning that these measures “will not prevent” Moscow from helping the People's Republics in eastern Ukraine.