British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has indicated that he wants to make Russia pay for the war in Ukraine and has announced new sanctions against the aggressor, writes the BBC.
Speaking to the BBC on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Sunak said he would lead new sanctions against Russia and hoped other countries would follow his lead. One of the novelties will be a ban on importing diamonds from Russia into Great Britain. In 2021, the export value of the Russian diamond industry was four billion dollars.
This year,
it is also planned to develop legislation that will prevent copper, aluminum and nickel of Russian origin from entering Great Britain.
The British Prime Minister said: “I’m hopeful and confident that our partner countries will follow as they have done when we’ve done this previously. That will make the sanctions more effective, and ensure that Russia pays a price for its illegal activity.”
The British government also plans to add another 86 names to the list of sanctioned individuals and companies.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Britain has sanctioned more than 1,500 individuals and entities and frozen more than 18 billion pounds of Russian-related assets. Last year, Great Britain, the United States, Canada, and Japan banned the import of Russian gold.
The President of the Council of the European Union (EU), Charles Michel, has indicated that
the EU also wants to limit the trade of Russian diamonds in order to continue putting pressure on Moscow.
Russia has significantly increased its shelling of Ukrainian cities in May, but Ukraine’s air defense system is also intercepting an increasing number of Russian-launched missiles, including Kinzhal supersonic missiles, which until now were considered invulnerable.
Sunak is expected to call for a united approach to authoritarian regimes at the G7 summit in Hiroshima. He stated that the sanctions show the unity of the G7 countries.