Germans hesitant about new EU-Russia sanctions

According to diplomatic circles, Germany has expressed reservations about plans by the EU Commission to put Chinese companies on a new EU sanctions list against Russia. In an initial discussion among representatives of the 27 EU countries, Germany warned for caution against China under the new punitive measures over Russia’s war on Ukraine, five diplomats said in Brussels. In Berlin, a government official said the German government was in principle very skeptical of the extraterritorial sanctions often applied by the United States. The goal of sanctions against Russia, it is said, should primarily be to prevent existing sanctions against Russia from being undermined. But that would be aimed more at companies in countries like Turkey, Kazakhstan or Armenia, which suddenly import a lot more goods from the EU.