Lithuania calling for an emphasis on sectoral sanctions for the 14th Russia sanctions package

VILNIUS. Feb 21 (Interfax/BNS) - The Lithuanian Foreign Ministry, as the European Union prepares its next, thirteenth, package of sanctions against Russia, is already calling for the EU to begin preparing the fourteenth package of restrictive measures.

"We need to start talking about the fourteenth package of sanctions now; new, perhaps, I would say, sectors should appear in it, because individual sanctions are individual, while sectoral sanctions, of course, have the greatest impact on the Russian economy. I think this year, we will not stop [with only the thirteenth sanctions package]," Lithuanian Deputy Foreign Minister Simonas Satunas said on Wednesday in an interview on Lithuanian radio.

Lithuania and the other Baltic countries are making significant efforts to ensure that customs and other services work effectively towards implementing the sanctions. However, it is necessary to urge our EU colleagues to do a better job looking out for potential cases of sanctions evasion, and to reduce them if detected, he said.

The EU is preparing to adopt its thirteenth sanctions package on the eve of the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. The restrictive measures will cover about 200 entities, mainly in the defense and security industries.

"We focus on individuals and companies that in one way or another contribute to strengthening the military-technological potential of Russia, its defense industry and the security sector as a whole," the deputy minister said.

Currently, the EU has applied sanctions to approximately 1,500 citizens of Russia and Belarus as well as 207 enterprises and organizations.