EU targets Chinese banks over Russian trade links
Proposed sanctions would be the first time Brussels has moved against third-country lenders supporting Moscow
| Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here. https://www.ft.com/content/c60ee798-872b-44c4-ab1c-3f526dfce11e Henry Foy, Alice Hancock and Andy Bounds in Brussels PublishedYESTERDAY 31 Print this page The EU is preparing sanctions against two Chinese banks that allegedly enabled banned trade with Russia, the first attempt by Brussels to target a third-country lender for supporting Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The curbs were included in the European Commission’s latest package of measures, four officials with knowledge of the plans told the Financial Times. They require the unanimous support of EU member states to be adopted. Such a step would mark a significant escalation in the bloc’s efforts to punish China over its alleged role in facilitating Moscow’s evasion of existing trade restrictions, which are designed to limit foreign supplies to Moscow’s military-industrial complex. The two small regional Chinese banks under consideration used crypto transactions to facilitate the import of goods covered by existing EU sanctions, two of the officials said. The sanctions package could be amended in negotiations between member states. The move comes as Brussels seeks to maximise pressure on Russia in a bid to undermine its economy, force Moscow to return to stalled peace negotiations with Ukraine and show Europe’s determination to stand by Kyiv. Read the whole article |
Is Putin’s Soft Touch Bringing War in Its Train? Paul C. Roberts
| By Dr. Paul Craig Roberts and Dr. Gilbert Doctorow Global Research, June 10, 2025 “If Mr. Putin genuinely wants to save the lives of his soldiers and of his civilians then he should end the war conclusively and dramatically right now. This, I believe, is well within his power if he has the will and the vision to act as the situation requires.” — Gilbert Doctorow I am pleased to see Gilbert Doctorow’s concurrence with my longstanding position that the greatest threat to peace is Putin’s reluctance to bring the conflict in Ukraine to a quick decisive end. Putin’s ongoing war is a direct road to wider war. In his ever-widening war Putin has done nothing to prevent the Kiev government from continuing the war. I have suggested that Putin hoped to use peace negotiations to achieve a wider understanding with the West. Others have attributed Putin’s inaction to his concern that if Russia acts decisively, the result will be to unite the West to more hostile action. Still others attribute the never-ending conflict to Russian weakness. Whatever the cause, the longer the war continues the more it spins out of control. Although dismissed by Putin, the attack on Russia’s triad is a very serious matter. Gilbert Doctorow and John Helmer are commentators, analysts, whatever you want to designate them, who seek out the facts instead of pushing official narratives. They don’t always see eye-to-eye, but I read them as a check on my own thinking. The fact that most so-called experts are pushing narratives instead of correct explanations is why we are in danger from such reckless actions as attacking Russian strategic nuclear forces. As I have said, that attack should scare the world to death. Read the whole article |
