BRUSSELS, March 22. /TASS/. The heads of EU states and governments urged to impose more sanctions on Russia over its special military operation in Ukraine, and to introduce more restrictions against Belarus, Iran and North Korea for supporting Moscow, the EU summit said in its final statement.
"The European Council welcomes the adoption of the 13th package of sanctions. It calls for further steps to weaken Russia’s ability to continue waging its war <…>, including by strengthening the sanctions," the document says.
Moreover, the European Council urged the European Commission to draft new sanctions against Belarus, Iran and North Korea for their alleged support of Russia. "The European Council calls on the High Representative [Josep Borrell] and the Commission to prepare further sanctions against Belarus, North Korea and Iran," the heads of EU states and governments said in the joint statement.
Also, the European Union threatened to impose ‘significant’ sanctions on Iran if it supplies Russia with ballistic missiles.
"It [the European Council] is extremely concerned about reports that Iran may transfer ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia for use against Ukraine," the statement says. "Were Iran to do so, the European Union is prepared to respond swiftly and in coordination with international partners, including with new and significant restrictive measures against Iran."
The EU leaders also tasked the European Commission with working more hard to prevent circumvention of sanctions. "This includes preventing the circumvention of sanctions through third countries," the document reads.
The EU emphasized that "Russia’s access to sensitive items and technologies with battlefield relevance must be restricted to the maximum extent possible." In this regard, the EU called upon third countries to refrain from providing military support to Russia.