Another meeting of the International Expert Group on Sanctions against Russia was held under the chairmanship of Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and former US National Security Advisor, Ambassador Michael McFaul. The event was held in the format of a video conference.
Andriy Yermak noted that the group's experts prepared four large-scale documents and a number of statements, and also actively informed the public about the need for sanctions against Russia.
"These efforts are highly appreciated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian government and, most importantly, the entire Ukrainian people. Our allies also noticed them. The documents of our group were handed over to the leaders of many countries - the United States of America, Great Britain, and the European Union," said Andriy Yermak.
According to him, last week two American senators mentioned the work of the International Expert Group during a meeting with the President of Ukraine.
"They noted that the very idea of recognizing Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism stems from the Action Plan provided by our group," noted Andriy Yermak.
The Head of the President's Office emphasized that more than 50% of the steps of the group's action plan have been completed so far.
As Andriy Yermak noted, the International Expert Group has become a key platform for the formation of sanctions on the aggressor country, and almost all world leaders refer to the results of its work.
"Now we see how the EU sanctions coordinators are developing the seventh package based on the materials of our group. We see the reflection of our ideas in the sanctions of Great Britain, the USA and other states of the sanctions coalition. Overall, the group made a very important impact. And I would like us to support this success," he said.
The Head of the President's Office noted that Russia continues the war against our country, therefore it is very important to expand the sanctions package against the aggressor country.
"Further energy and financial sanctions, expansion of individual sanctions. We say to the world: there is no time to get tired of sanctions, and therefore we should continue our work," he said.
The meeting participants agreed on the importance of strengthening sanctions against Russia, in particular recognizing the aggressor as a state sponsor of terrorism, expanding personal sanctions, further sectoral sanctions in the financial and energy spheres, and wider trade and technological restrictions. The aggressor country must suffer as much damage as possible, experts emphasized.
They also proposed to analyze the impact of sanctions on certain sectors of the Russian economy in order to develop recommendations for increasing their effectiveness.
With regard to additional formats of the group's work, Andriy Yermak suggested holding regular video conference briefings with colleagues from other countries who work directly on sanctions policy. Representatives of the International Expert Group, the Ukrainian Parliament and the parliaments of partner countries, the European Commission, the US Department of State and other structures participating in the work on sanctions will be able to join them.
Andriy Yermak thanked the participants of the International Expert Group for their important work and urged them to make new proposals and generate ideas to achieve results.
“Keep generating ideas and persuading. Our work changes the rules of the game. And it is invaluable, it saves the lives of Ukrainians and brings our victory closer," said the Head of the President's Office.