European Union Readies New Russia Sanctions as Trade Reroutes Around the Blocs

The European Union is moving toward another round of sanctions on Russia, but with notable carve-outs. The Russian agency TASS reported that the European Commission will not include aluminum or alumina in its 21st sanctions package, a decision that follows a political dispute in Ireland over shipments of alumina to Russia despite the absence of any formal restriction on that trade.

The package is expected to target the financial system. RBC reported that the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, responding to plans to restrict roughly 90 Russian banks, said the banking sector remains stable and under control. That assurance, naturally, comes from the side being sanctioned.

The sanctions are reshaping commerce rather than halting it, and not always smoothly inside Russia's own arrangements. RBC reported that Armenia has appealed to the Eurasian Economic Commission over barriers it faces exporting goods to Russia, a complaint from the economy minister Gevorg Papoyan that exposes friction within the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) that Moscow is leaning on to insulate trade from Western measures.