On 17 October 2016, European Union foreign ministers met to discuss the conflict in Syria and possible further action. EU ministers called on Russia to take immediate action to halt indiscriminate bombing by the Syrian regime, restore a cessation of hostilities, ensure immediate and expanded humanitarian access and create the conditions for a credible and inclusive political transition in Syria. In addition, they condemned the confirmed use of chemical weapons (as detailed in the UN’s…
On Friday 2nd September, Boris Johnson, the UK Foreign Secretary, indicated that the UK will continue to support the EU sanctions regime against Russia, stating that “events in Ukraine are still very worrying, and it’s important I think that we continue to keep pressure up on Russia and we see progress based on the Minsk Agreement. There can be no relaxation of that pressure until such time as we see the Minsk Agreement being advanced“.
On June 29, 2016 the President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed Decree No. 305 that extended the food embargo against specifically listed types of Western – origin food products until December 31, 2017. The 1-year ban on the importation of certain agricultural and food products originating in the countries that have sanctioned Russia was first introduced in the summer of 2014. In June of 2015 the embargo was extended to be effective until August 5,…
The UK government has published the Export Control (Iran Sanctions) Order 2016 (the “2016 Sanctions Order”), which will come into force on 6 May 2016, replacing the Export Control (Iran Sanctions) Order 2012 (S.I. 2012/1243) (the “2012 Sanctions Order”).
This follows the recent implementation of the Iran (Sanctions) (Overseas Territories) Order 2016 (the “2016 Overseas Territories Order”), which came into force on 17 March 2016; the Iran (United Nations Sanctions) (Amendment) Order 2016 (SI 2016/378) (the “UN Sanctions Amendment Order”), which came into force on 13 April 2016; and the Iran (European Union Financial Sanctions) Regulations 2016 (SI 2016/36), which came into force on 18 Jan 2016. Each of these implements aspects of the sanctions relief agreed under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (“JCPOA”).