On the 24th local time, the Financial Times reported that as part of negotiations before the Group of Seven (G7) summit, the United States has proposed sanctions to other G7 countries to ban almost all exports of goods to Russia, but has been opposed by the European Union and Japan. The report by the Financial Times has not been confirmed by media from EU countries, but various signs indicate that the US plan to demand a comprehensive ban on exports from G7 countries such as Russia has not received support from allies.
The German newspaper "Business Daily" stated that the United States clearly wants to promote a complete embargo on Russia in the G7, which has sparked intense debate within the European Union. Countries still exporting goods to Russia may strongly oppose and there is a risk of retaliation from Moscow. If an export ban is implemented, most of the remaining trade flows between these countries and Russia will collapse. According to Trade Data Monitoring Corporation, Germany, Italy, and Poland are the three largest exporting countries in Europe to Russia. Among G7 countries, products such as cars, chocolate, beer, shoes, flowers, and cosmetics are particularly affected by the potential embargo against Russia. At the same time, European countries also need Russia to provide some key raw materials, such as palladium, copper, iron, and nickel. The report states that once a complete embargo against Russia is implemented, it may also bring Moscow closer to China when searching for alternative solutions.
On the 23rd, the Vice President of the Russian Federation Security Council, Medvedev, warned that if G7 completely prohibits exports to Russia, the Russian side will terminate the agreement on the export of agricultural products from Black Sea ports as a response. Russian media and analysts believe that the differences in the G7's comprehensive export ban on Russia once again highlight the expanding contradictions within the United States and Western countries. Russia has sufficient means and capabilities to respond to potential new sanctions pressure. The ongoing sanctions against Russia are increasingly affecting Western countries themselves, making it increasingly difficult to sustain and increase sanctions measures, and the internal cracks within the Western camp are also deepening.
On the 25th, Alexei Chepa, Vice Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma, stated that the United States never considers its Western allies, and its position has always been that US interests are paramount, disregarding the possible consequences of a comprehensive ban on exports to Russia for other Western countries. The condescending posture of the United States and its pressure on other Western countries have caused dissatisfaction, and some countries are trying to respond to this.
Russian Finance Minister Silvanov stated on the 24th that Western countries have exhausted all means to impose sanctions on Russia and do not know what else to do to increase Russia's "pain". Russia does not need to detail the sanctions measures, the top priority is to focus on doing its own things well and moving forward. He also stated that some countries have imposed export bans on Russia, but Russia is still able to import related goods from friendly countries and regions, and some of the goods are of better quality. Meanwhile, Russia will do its utmost to independently manufacture key products.
