By Alberto Nardelli and Jennifer Jacobs
February 9, 2023
Bloomberg News
G7
leaders, (clockwise from front) European Union Council Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen, European Union Council President Charles Michel, Prime
Minister of Italy Mario Draghi, Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, French
President Emanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, U.S. President Joe
Biden, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida,
at a working session dinner during the G7 summit in Schloss Elmau, on June 26,
2022 near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. (Stefan Rousseau - Pool/Getty
Images/TNS)
Stefan Rousseau - Pool/Getty Images North America/TNS
LONDON — Group of Seven member states are discussing whether to
sanction companies in China, Iran and North Korea they believe are providing
Russia with parts and technology that have military purposes, according to
people familiar with the matter.
The
aim is to coordinate a package of measures by Feb. 24, the one-year mark of
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the people said, asking not to be identified
discussing sensitive matters.
The
discussions are still in the formative stage, and actions taken by each G-7
state might not be the same, one of the people said. The companies that might
be included are also still being decided, the people said.
Spokespeople
for the White House National Security Council declined to comment.
Any
action would reflect efforts by the G-7 to disrupt the flow of material with
military purposes to Russia via third countries that aren’t signed up to the
sanctions imposed in the aftermath of its invasion. There’s concern that
companies may be helping Russia skirt sanctions, the people said.
The
U.S. already has raised concern with China about non-lethal equipment provided
to Russia, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken was going to pursue the issue
on a trip to Beijing that was postponed after an alleged Chinese spy balloon
was spotted crossing the U.S.
China
previously hit back at claims some of its state-owned firms may be helping
Russia’s war in Ukraine, saying Washington should stop sending weapons if it
wants the conflict to end. China “would never add fuel to the fire, still less
exploit the crisis,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in late
January.
Still,
China’s strategic partnership with Russia has momentum and will continue to
grow, the government said this month after Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu
visited Russia.
China
has repeatedly asserted its right to maintain trade with Russia since the war
started. In March, the Asian nation’s ambassador to Moscow, Zhang Hanhui, told
about a dozen business heads in Russia to waste no time and “fill the void” in
the local market.
Then
on Monday, the ambassador in Paris, Lu Shaye, responded to a French
interviewer’s question over whether Chinese companies were selling Russia spare
parts that could be used in the war effort by saying: “But parts are not
weapons, are they?”
Lu
also reiterated that China was not supplying weapons to Russia.
Ukraine’s
allies already have sanctioned Iranian firms allegedly supplying Russia with
drones and are now looking to expand those measures. They have also called out
North Korea for providing Moscow with ammunition. Both Iran and North Korea
deny aiding Russia in its war. Some G-7 nations believe that Chinese firms are
selling technological components, such as microchips, that are benefiting
Russia militarily.
Diplomatic
efforts are also underway to address any possible loopholes on the sanctions
that Russia may be exploiting, with equipment potentially flowing through
countries including the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and India.
(With
assistance from Philip Glamann.)
https://www.bloomberg.com
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