German report: China responsible for 80 percent of sanctions evasion against Russia

2025-05-27 22:31:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

German report: China responsible for 80 percent of sanctions evasion against

The European Union says China, including Hong Kong, is responsible for "approximately" 80 percent of sanctions evasion against Russia, although Beijing continues to deny these accusations.

According to a classified report from the German Foreign Ministry, which was seen by the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and state television networks NDR and WDR, the EU's sanctions commissioner, David O'Sullivan, stated at a meeting in Brussels this month that while the sanctions are having a significant impact on the Russian economy, difficulties continue.

Media reported on May 27 that the Chinese Embassy in Berlin declined to comment on these allegations.

Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service on May 26 accused China of continuing to supply Russian defense factories with numerous goods used for military purposes, a claim that Beijing also denies.

"China has never provided lethal weapons to any party in the conflict and strictly controls dual-use goods. Ukraine understands this very well. China firmly opposes groundless accusations and political manipulations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press conference on May 27.

The German Foreign Ministry report was a summary of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting held in Brussels on May 20.

In addition to China, the report says difficulties also continue with Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

While the United Arab Emirates claims that exports have stopped, the report points out that no statistics are provided and that import data suggests the opposite.

The report also adds that EU companies are also involved in evading sanctions, which weakens the European Commission's position in negotiations with third countries to impose measures.

The reports on the issue come less than a week after the bloc took a major step towards cutting off imports of nitrogen fertilizers from Russia and Belarus, adopting tariffs aimed at making their purchase economically unviable within three years.

European leaders have also threatened Russia with a "massive" package of sanctions if Moscow does not accept a 30-day ceasefire proposed by Washington.

They have suggested that the next package of sanctions - which would be the 18th from the EU - could include the energy sector and financial measures./ Rel