German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday that his government wants to take pragmatic measures to prevent circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia, in an apparent attempt to soften US demands for a broader ban on Russian exports, Reuters reported.

Scholz will attend a meeting of G7 leaders in Japan this week to discuss plans to tighten sanctions against Russia over the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

Sources familiar with the diplomatic talks ahead of the meeting say the new measures are aimed at countering sanctions evasion through third countries, which has already raised concerns in Moscow.

U.S. officials expect G7 members to agree to adjust their approach to sanctions so that, at least for certain categories of goods, all exports are automatically banned, except for those on a list of approved goods, such as food or medicine.

Olaf Scholz does not want “serious changes” in the system of sanctions against Russia

“We are trying to facilitate a good and pragmatic continuous development” of measures against Russia, Olaf Scholz said on Wednesday when asked about a possible paradigm shift in sanctions.

Being present in Iceland at a meeting of the Council of Europe, he added that he hoped that the agreement would be reached “without serious systemic changes”.

European leaders attending the Council of Europe summit in Reykjavik discussed ways to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine and outlined a mechanism for tracking losses and damages caused by Moscow’s forces.

But Scholz said it was unclear exactly how Russia could be made to pay for the damages, suggesting there are few legal options for using, for example, Russian assets blocked in the West.

Germany again says “no” to fighter jets for Ukraine

When asked whether Berlin would agree to Kyiv’s desire to receive modern fighter jets, Scholz avoided a direct answer, saying instead that Germany’s goal is to strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses.

At the summit, Britain said it was working with the Netherlands to build an international coalition to help Ukraine obtain F-16 fighter jets from its allies, although Britain, Germany and the United States have so far opposed providing their own planes.

Germany’s defense ministry released a statement on Wednesday saying it was “positive about UK and Dutch efforts to build a fighter jet coalition for Ukraine”, but stressed it did not want to provide its own military aircraft.

Ukraine also received fighter jets from European partners for the first time this year, but Poland and Slovakia handed over refurbished and modernized Soviet MiG-29s.

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