Russian Railways sends appeal to EU Council on lifting sanctions imposed against RZD

MOSCOW. July 19 (Interfax) - Russian Railways has sent an appeal to the Council of the European Union on lifting the restrictions imposed against RZD, the company said on its official Telegram channel.

According to the monopoly, "EU sanctions are aimed at limiting the ability of Russian Railways to perform socially significant and humanitarian functions, and they are discriminatory regarding the population of the Russian Federation."

"Moreover, they contradict a significant number of international laws and acts of the EU itself. The EU Council classifies trains as 'luxury items' for Russian citizens and blocks their delivery and repair with sanctions acts. Meantime, railway transport is positioned as mass and carbon-neutral within the EU itself," according to the statement.

Furthermore, the EU Council unreasonably, and in violation of legal principles and norms, has included the company in the sanctions list that sets a ban on raising financing and funds.

Russian Railways notes that export embargoes against railway equipment have become the direct and only reason that Siemens has terminated its contractual obligations for supplying and maintaining the Sapsan and Lastochka high-speed trains. "Thus, out of court, the business chains that had been developing for many years have been broken, and good faith relations between Russian and European counterparties have been destroyed," the company said.

"Russian Railways considers the judicial appeal of the sanctions acts to be unpromising. The decision is based on numerous cases of biased consideration by the EU court regarding appeals from Russian citizens and organizations," the company said.

Meantime, Russian Railways retains the hope that the EU Council will carefully consider the detailed evidence presented pertaining to violations of international legal norms, the basic principles of the union's activities, and the internal contradictions in the sanctions acts.

"In view of the undeniable connection between legal violations and discrimination against the Russian population because of them, Russian Railways calls for lifting the sanctions imposed against RZD in its appeal addressed to the EU Council," the monopoly said.