EC president presents essence of EC proposal for 11th package of anti-Russian sanctions in Kiev

BRUSSELS. May 10 (Interfax) - European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said that during her visit to Kiev on Tuesday she discussed, among other things, the European Union sanctions on Russia with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

"Last Friday, the commission adopted its proposal for the 11th sanctions package. The focus of this package is now on cracking down on circumvention. We are doing this in very close coordination with our international partners, particularly with G7," the EC president said in a statement in the Ukrainian capital.

She described briefly the content of the new sanctions package. Von der Leyen said the EU is adding "more products to the transit ban," for example, "advanced tech products or aircraft parts that are going to third countries via Russia."

Second, a "new tool to combat sanctions circumvention" is being proposed, she went on to say.

This includes sanctioning the export of goods that reach Russia via third countries. She described this tool as a "last resort," so it will be "used cautiously following a very diligent risk analysis and after approval by EU member states."

The third element of the future package is a ban on "shadow entities from Russia and third countries when intentionally circumventing our sanctions."