As part of the new sanctions package after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU will also take action against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. According to various media outlets, including the Financial Times and The New York Times, their European assets will be frozen. Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn confirmed the news.
European heads of state and government agreed last night to impose new sanctions on Russia. These sanctions will be detailed today at an additional meeting of foreign ministers. It must appear in the Official Journal of the European Union during the evening, after which it becomes officially effective.
President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov will now also be punished. Usually, in such actions against individuals, the EU chooses to freeze all assets in Europe and impose a ban on entry, but Putin and Lavrov are still allowed to enter the EU. In doing so, the EU would like to signal that it is keeping the door open for diplomacy, if only symbolically.
Before the start of the meeting of European foreign ministers, Luxembourg Minister Jean Asselborn confirmed the news. “We’ll have a discussion about that, but I think we’ll find a consensus on the origins of Putin and Lavrov,” he nodded.
