The West is ready to tighten the repeatedly threatened sanctions against Russia in retaliation for the invasion of Ukraine.

From what has been learned, the EU Foreign Affairs Council will give the green light to freeze the assets of Vladimir Putin and Moscow Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, a measure included in the second package of sanctions decided by Brussels.

The measures were also confirmed by French President Emmanuel Macron, who in a message addressed to the French Parliament recalled that the European Council "has decided on a series of unprecedented sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The sanctions will also affect Russian personalities, including senior citizens. leaders of the Russian Federation ".

Previously, US President Joe Biden had also announced the joint decision of the G7 countries to punish "the unjustified attack on Ukraine" with a "devastating package of sanctions and other economic measures".

The White House, for its part, has decided to hit four other Russian state banks (worth one trillion dollars), including the giant VTB, and to halve the export of technological material to Russia. 24 Belarusian people and organizations are also targeted for their support for the Russian invasion.

And while the West makes a common front to strike Putin and the Russian political and economic leaders, China instead is lending a hand to Moscow in this sense.

In a telephone conversation with Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping in fact underlined "the inadmissibility of the use of illegitimate sanctions to serve the selfish interests of some countries".

During the meeting, Russian sources explain, the two leaders confirmed "the identity of principled approaches to key international issues".

(Unioneonline / lf)