GENEVA, November 12. /TASS/. The Federal Council of Switzerland has signed up to the latest package of the European Union's sanctions against Russia imposed in September over the crisis in Ukraine, the council said in a statement on Wednesday.

"In view of the situation in Ukraine, and following decisions taken by the EU, the Federal Council today decided to adopt further measures to prevent the circumvention of international sanctions," the council said.

Western sanctions against Russia

Russian officials and companies came under the first batch of Western sanctions, including visa bans and asset freezes, after Russia incorporated Crimea in mid-March after a coup in Ukraine in February.

The West announced new sectoral penalties against Russia in late July over Moscow’s position on Ukrainian events, in particular, what the West claimed was Russia’s alleged involvement in hostilities in Ukraine’s embattled east.

In response, Russia imposed on August 6 a one-year ban on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from Australia, Canada, the EU, the United States and Norway.

The European Union and the United States imposed the latest batch of sectoral sanctions against Russia on September 12 despite the deal on a ceasefire, signed in Minsk a week before, between Kiev and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s republics (DPR and LPR) in the embattled southeast of Ukraine.

The new US sanctions list includes Sberbank, Bank of Moscow, Gazprombank, Rosselkhozbank, Vnesheconombank, and VTB. Now they cannot borrow for a period of more than 30 days. The US has also blocked the assets of five defense enterprises and banned the export of goods, services and technologies for projects carried out by Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, Lukoil, Surgutneftegaz and Rosneft.