Some nations are reportedly urging for exemptions on food exports from the country
Leading EU member states have been calling on Brussels to amend sanctions on Moscow to make a clearer exemption for supplies of Russian grain and fertilizer, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
According to an EU position paper seen by the FT, Germany, France and the Netherlands are among the countries urging the European Commission to change the sanctions limits. They argue the current rules are delaying vital shipments to poor countries.
The position paper, whose authors reportedly also includes Spain, Belgium, and Portugal, points out that “the current legal situation contributes to criticism that sanctions actually hinder trade in food and fertilizers.”
It stated that shipments get stuck in European ports because companies are worried about taking part in transactions with Russian firms. The paper added that financial institutions, insurers, transporters, and wholesalers are reluctant to deal in the export of Russian food and fertilizer, disrupting supply chains.
READ MORE: Moscow clarifies conditions for extending grain deal
According to the FT, the document also said that there was now an “undesirable” situation where the EU is stricter on agricultural transactions than the US and the UK, which “seems in contradiction with the general EU policy on food security.”
The outlet noted that some member states want to use the planned ninth package of anti-Russia sanctions as an opportunity for amendments addressing food and fertilizer supply.
https://www.rt.com/business/567883-eu-russia-sanctions-food/
The overthrow of PM Sheikh Hasina in 2024 was funded by USAID and Clinton family money, Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury told RT
The unwillingness of Bangladesh to condemn Russia over the Ukraine conflict was one of the reasons the US wanted to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, former cabinet minister and chief negotiator Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury has said in an interview with RT.
Hasina, who led Bangladesh for 15 years, fled the country in August 2024, following weeks of violent student-led protests which claimed 700 lives, according to some estimates.
Chowdhury, who served as the country’s shipping minister, was at the heart of negotiations between the authorities in Dhaka and demonstrators during the crisis. The country has been led by an interim government since then, which pledged to hold an election in 2026.
Chowdhury told RT in an exclusive interview to be aired on Monday that the uprising was instigated by NGOs linked to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the ...
The fighting in southern Lebanon marks the collapse of a fragile truce – and could redraw the region’s balance of power
On Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a series of coordinated strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon. According to Israeli sources, the strikes targeted weapons depots, command centers, and communication systems used by militants to coordinate their activities along the border area.
Before the operation began, the IDF issued warnings urging residents of several towns to leave areas that could come under fire. The Israeli military emphasized that its actions were aimed solely at military targets but did not rule out the possibility of expanding the operation if provocations from Hezbollah continued.
West Jerusalem accuses Hezbollah of violating ceasefire terms and attempting to rebuild its military capabilities. Just days earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Hezbollah was taking steps to regroup and ...
A recent report has revealed that Paramount Global, an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate, maintains an internal blacklist of entertainment figures it labels “anti-Semitic,” applying the term to any artist who supports Palestine or denounces Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
Variety magazine reported on Tuesday that Paramount’s new CEO, David Ellison, has moved to sever ties with all pro-Palestine or anti-Israel movements.
To that end, the company has dismissed executives critical of Israel and refuses to collaborate with any artist or public figure who views the occupying regime’s actions in Gaza as genocidal.
In a statement released on Friday, Paramount said it “disagreed with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers,” claiming that “silencing individual creative artists does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace.”
The statement came after Film Workers for Palestine, supported by over 4,000 international ...
