Russian deputy minister blacklisted in new EU sanctions over Siemens turbines to Crimea
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The European Union on Friday imposed sanctions on three more Russians, including Deputy Energy Minister Andrei Cherezov, and three Russian companies over the delivery of Siemens' turbines to Moscow-annexed Crimea.
The EU first introduced sanctions on Russia after the 2014 military takeover of the Black Sea peninsula from Kiev, and stepped them up repeatedly as Moscow then backed separatist unrest in the east of Ukraine. The latest tightening comes in response to the delivery of Siemens' gas turbines to Crimea in violation of EU sanctions, which bar doing business there since the annexation that has not been internationally recognized. EU's 28 states must be unanimous to go ahead with sanctions and diplomatic sources said Italy's opposition meant a fourth name had to be dropped from the initial German proposal.
Siemens says it has evidence that all four turbines it delivered for a project in southern Russia had been illegally moved to Crimea. The EU said the blacklisted companies include Siemens' two Russian contractors that moved the turbines.
