Denmark rallies support for EU sanctions on Russia’s crypto revenue to push peace talks

Denmark wants the EU to restrict Moscow’s cryptocurrency transactions as part of fresh European sanctions against Russia to be discussed in Copenhagen this week.

EU ministers are gathering to consider moves to put more pressure on the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine while providing Western support for the country.

Danes propose sanctioning Russia’s crypto transactions

European defense and foreign ministers are arriving in the Danish capital on Thursday to mull measures to convince Russia that continuing the war makes no sense, Politico noted in a report, citing an EU diplomat.

Talks will focus on security guarantees for Ukraine and the European Union’s next round of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which invaded its neighbor more than three years ago.

Denmark, currently holding the EU presidency, intends to discuss with the ministers ways to “further hamper Russia’s war-financing ability and warfare capability,” according to a document seen by the political news outlet.

The hosts are pitching the idea to impose additional sanctions on Russian revenues from oil and gas sales and hit its banking and finance sector, including crypto operations. The report was quoted by Russia’s official TASS news agency.

Russia, which allowed companies to use cryptocurrencies in foreign trade settlements, has long been suspected of utilizing digital coins for cross-border payments as its access to traditional financial channels remains severely limited.

Crypto platforms and banks allegedly helping Russian entities were recently sanctioned by both U.S. and the U.K. authorities, as reported by Cryptopolitan.

The meeting’s program includes a dinner on August 28, a defense ministerial the next day and a foreign ministers’ meeting on Saturday. No final decisions are expected due to the informal nature of the gathering.

However, the ministers will be briefed and asked for their opinions on the guarantees formally proposed in the so-called “coalition of the willing” group that includes the U.K. and Ukraine.

EU aims at third countries involved in Russia sanctions evasion

The Danes are also planning to suggest deploying a new tool to ban Russian exports to non-EU nations that may be involved in bypassing sanctions, Politico revealed without elaborating.

The European Union is considering imposing sanctions on Russia’s partners, which will be discussed in Copenhagen, Bloomberg confirmed, citing knowledgeable sources. The news agency remarked:

“The EU has historically been averse to imposing secondary sanctions … but it appears to have arrived at the limits of what it can do with sanctions targeting Russia directly.”

These measures are meant to prevent third countries from circumventing existing restrictions and include a ban on the export, supply or transfer of certain goods to their territories.

The U.S. administration of President Donald Trump, which is trying hard to secure a peace agreement with Moscow, has been critical of such policies.

Europe’s 19th package of sanctions on the Russian Federation should be announced in early September, Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced previously.

European Union vows to double down on pressure

According to David McAllister, chair of the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee, “this is the moment to double down, not to ease off.”

Both the EU and the U.S. should keep the pressure on Russia, and that’s crucial, he told Politico, elaborating further:

“Sanctions must be tightened, Russia’s evasion exposed, and military support for Ukraine sustained.”

McAllister is convinced Putin “plays for time” and is “waiting for Western resolve to weaken or for political attention to move elsewhere.”

“Especially at stake is whether Europe shows it is capable of sustaining support for Ukraine,” the MEP emphasized, a day after the Kremlin rejected the idea of sending European peacekeepers to Ukraine through comments made by its spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

The United States’ role in determining Ukraine’s future, “remains indispensable,” David McAllister concluded.

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