Zelensky denies reports of “collapse of cooperation” between US and EU on sanctions against Russia

27.05.2025 14:59

Ukrinform

The Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasyuk has denied information in some German media about the alleged termination of cooperation between the United States and the European Union in countering the circumvention of sanctions against Russia.

According to Ukrinform, Vlasiuk made the statement on Facebook.

According to him, the headline in one reputable publication reads: “MEDIA: The US and the EU no longer cooperate in countering the evasion of sanctions against Russia” is a big exaggeration.

“I communicate with the American sanctioners, and I saw them twice in three weeks at joint working meetings in Europe, where they discussed both circumventing sanctions and strengthening sanctions. Is the “momentum” the same as it was? No, but only because of the political context. Or the “collapse of cooperation”? Absolutely not,” Vlasiuk said.

He emphasized that, as before, there is a lot of information and idea exchange within the sanctions coalition.

“Everyone is roughly aware of the plans of others. The British are preparing sanctions. The EU is preparing the 18th package. It will be difficult for the EU to get a “+” from Hungary to extend sanctions without the US. The US packages prepared by the US concern the same shadow fleet and sanctions circumvention that the EU has,” Vlasiuk emphasized.

The internal report of the German Foreign Ministry, prepared following the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on May 20, allegedly points to the recent problematic cooperation with the United States on the issue of sanctions policy against Russia and that the European Union may no longer be able to count on US support in the fight against sanctions circumvention, Ukrinform reports citing Tagesschau.

“Previously, there was a regular exchange of information between American and European financial investigators to find Russian assets. However, in recent weeks, according to EU sources, there has been no such exchange anymore, as the United States has stopped providing information,” the report said.

According to a confidential document of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, EU sanctions commissioner David O'Sullivan said that there was a “breakdown of all channels of dialogue with the US side on workarounds”. It is also stated that the Group of Seven (G7) has lost momentum on this issue, and the United States has disbanded the KleptoCapture group, which identified and confiscated assets of Russian oligarchs.