The sanctions were lighter than expected, largely on account of Chinese diplomatic efforts to assure the EU that it would prevent Western hardware from leaking to Russia.
The EU is resisting lobbying by the Gulf States to drop sanctions against Assad as recent terrorist attacks and deaths on the Mediterranean underlined Syria’s continued relevance to EU policymakers.
“China will react in necessary ways,” if the EU goes ahead with its planned sanctions against companies assisting Russia, the Chinese foreign minister threatened his German counterpart during an official visit to Berlin.
Prime Minister Orbán’s meeting with the leader of the Austrian Freedom Party (FPÖ) may have been intended as a message to the ruling Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP).
At least three Russian institutions received €4 million in funding in what amounts to direct EU financial aid to the Russian war effort, a parliamentary question by AfD MEP Nicolaus Fest revealed.
