The United States and the European Union cannot agree on a detailed list of Russian companies and products that may be subject to sanctions restrictions, the Financial Times writes.
It is noted that EU and US officials intend to soon complete the development of measures to limit the export to Russia of key technologies produced by Western companies. Earlier, Washington took similar measures against the Chinese company Huawei.
“The purpose of such measures is to limit Russia’s access to high-tech components that Russia cannot easily replace with supplies from other countries. We are talking about developments in various fields from artificial intelligence to quantum computers and lasers, which reduces the ability of Russia to diversify its economy dependent on fossil fuels”.
A source among senior European diplomats told the FT that a detailed list of products and companies that would be subject to sanctions in the event of a Russian “attack” on Ukrainian territory has caused serious controversy.
“EU participation in this part of the package is seen as particularly important given the scale of its exports to Russia, which in 2020 amounted to almost 80 billion euros,” the source said.
As News Front previously reported, the United States and Britain are planning to impose sanctions on Russia if Moscow “attacks” Ukraine, as Western media have reported in recent months. The Russian side, in turn, stressed that such statements completely lack an evidence base and they only escalate the situation.