• The EU will target Russian gold shipments in its upcoming sanctions package.
• EU will aim to “close exit routes” for individuals who evaded previous sanctions.
• The move is a response to the G7’s ban on gold exports from Russia at the end of June.

The EU will target Russian gold shipments in its upcoming sanction package and aim to “close exit routes” for individuals who evaded previous sanctions, an EU commissioner said on Friday.

The EU has adopted six Russian sanctions. Last June’s bill banned most Russian oil imports.

Maros Sefcovic, deputy director of the European Commission, stated in Prague that the EU will examine “ways we could impose a sanctions regime on gold, which is a key export commodity for Russia.”

Ahead of an informal meeting of EU affairs ministers hosted by the Czech presidency of the 27-nation bloc, he stated, “As soon as we reach an agreement at the level of member states, we will publish it.”

The move is a response to the G7’s ban on gold exports from Russia at the end of June.

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On Thursday, Olga Stefanishyna, the Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, urged the European Union to pass a new sanctions package.

She told reporters, “Nothing makes Russia so far feel accountable for (its) crimes.”

Stefanishyna stated, “We hope the next, seventh package of sanctions, will have strong restrictive potential and will be taken without further delay and as soon as possible.”

Sefcovic said that the EU would try to “block any way out for people who want to get around sanctions.”

“It is, of course, a very complex mechanism, so we need to not only set up, but also check, monitor, and close the places that would create platforms for an exit in some way,” he stated.

He also dismissed any notions of EU member states’ tiredness in assisting Ukraine, which Russia invaded on February 24.

“I have never seen so strongly demonstrated unity and effort from all member states to look for all possible reserves, whether we talk about financial aid or arms supplies,” Sefcovic said.

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