The European Union is discussing a new sanctions mechanism aimed at third countries that do not do enough to prevent Russia from circumventing restrictions already in place, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The sanctions tool is aimed at deterring countries from helping Russia and blocking trade channels that Moscow can use, the newspaper said. These measures are likely to be aimed at the countries of Central Asia and Russia’s closest neighbors, Kyiv Independent cites.

If the mechanism proves ineffective, the next step will be targeted restrictions on key products, writes Bloomberg.

It is also reported that in the future package of sanctions, the EU plans to extend several existing export control measures and ban the transit of many goods through Russia.

The 11th package in February 2022 will mainly focus on closing the loopholes in the measures in place that Russia uses to circumvent the restrictions, in particular to import prohibited goods through third countries.

According to Bloomberg, Russian imports of goods such as semiconductors and integrated circuits from countries such as Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and China have increased sharply since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

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