“For now, we see a consistent anti-Russian policy on the part of Europe. We have said on more than one occasion that we consider such unilateral sanctions illegitimate. We repudiate them,” Peskov stated.
The Russian presidential spokesman said that “this new package will have to be analyzed to minimize its impact,” but at the same time noted that Russia has acquired “a certain immunity to sanctions.” “We have adapted to living under sanctions,” he acknowledged.
Each package of new restrictive measures, according to Peskov, adds a negative effect for the countries that join them. It’s a double-edged sword, he explained.
Earlier this Friday, European Foreign Minister Kaja Kallas announced that the EU Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper) had approved the new, now eighteenth, package of restrictive measures against Russia.
One of the key elements of the 18th sanctions package, according to press reports, is the reduction of the capped price of Russian crude oil from $60 to $47.60 per barrel, a limit that will be reviewed every six months to ensure it remains 15% below the average market price.
In addition, the EU will ban Nord Stream pipeline operations and transactions with 22 Russian banks, extend sanctions to 105 ships in Russia’s so-called “ghost fleet,” as well as to Russian oil company Rosneft’s largest refinery in India, and to seven entities in China and four in Türkiye accused of helping Moscow evade the restrictions.
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