Poland this month presented a proposal for new sanctions against Russia over its ongoing war with Ukraine, which include a ban on imports of Russian oil and diamonds, according to a document seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

The written proposal, which a diplomatic source said has been submitted to the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, is the first signal of long and complex negotiations in the 27 member states of the Community bloc. All these countries must agree to the introduction of new sanctions, Reuters and Agerpres note.

The EU has already imposed ten rounds of sanctions against Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

A senior European official declined a Reuters request on Sunday to give an estimate of a possible time frame for any new sanctions.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the 11th round of sanctions would focus on combating evasion of existing sanctions, particularly on spare parts and equipment used by Russia on the battlefield against Ukraine.

Warsaw’s proposal would stop the import of Russian oil to Germany through the northern branch of the Druzhba oil pipeline. It would also end imports of diamonds and gas from Russia, including liquefied natural gas, and end cooperation in nuclear energy.

Hungary opposes sanctions against Russian nuclear energy

Germany and Lithuania are also in favor of nuclear sanctions with a grace period for countries such as Hungary and France that cooperate in this area with Russia.

Hungary, which announced last week that it had agreed to amend its contract with Russia’s Rosatom agency to expand the Paks nuclear power plant, has so far strongly opposed any sanctions on Russian nuclear power.

Belgium, home to the world’s largest diamond trading center in Antwerp, has so far successfully lobbied for a ban on the import of Russian diamonds.

Poland positions itself in the EU as a staunch supporter of Kyiv and against Russian aggression, but worried that this could upset Polish farmers ahead of national elections this year, Warsaw dealt a major blow to Ukraine by banning imports of Ukrainian grain.

Hungary and Slovakia rallied to the event, an issue to be discussed by the ambassadors of all 27 EU member states on Wednesday in Brussels.

• The EU finally managed to approve the tenth package of sanctions against Russia
• New EU sanctions against Moscow are considered “too soft, too weak” in Warsaw
• Viktor Orban threatened to veto EU sanctions against Russia

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