German Economy Minister Calls For Sanctions Against Countries Using Russian Nuclear Fuel

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on Wednesday for sanctions against those European countries that receive uranium for their power plants from Russia, contradicting Brussels on the issue of nuclear fuel supplies

BERLIN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th April, 2023) German Economy Minister Robert Habeck called on Wednesday for sanctions against those European countries that receive uranium for their power plants from Russia, contradicting Brussels on the issue of nuclear fuel supplies.

Last month, a high-ranking EU official said that it is difficult to find an alternative to the fuel and technologies from Russia used at a number of nuclear power plants in the European Union.

Habeck, after a two-day visit with an economic delegation to Kiev, advocated such restrictions "even if this means changes for countries that still equip nuclear power plants with Russian uranium," and he intends to support such sanctions as "it seems reasonable," according to the DPA news agency.

In addition, Habeck argues that there is "clear evidence" about the circumvention of existing sanctions against Moscow via third countries. The minister accused companies involved in such illegal actions of undermining aspirations for a settlement in Ukraine. Therefore, in his opinion, it is necessary to introduce special control mechanisms for dual-use goods.

"Companies will have to prove where the goods are located so that they do not suddenly appear in the Donbas on the Russian territories through secret channels," the minister said, as quoted by the news outlet.

In late March, Habeck stated that Germany is calling on EU countries to introduce control over end-users of dual-use goods, since these high-tech products can enter Russia through bordering countries or former Soviet republics.

In late February, the EU introduced its 10th sanctions package against Russia, however, it did not include any direct restrictions against its nuclear corporation, Rosatom. Earlier that month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that Budapest would not support any sanctions that would limit its nuclear cooperation with Russia, adding that Rosatom was one of the world's leading nuclear energy companies and sanctions against it could threaten global nuclear security. France and Bulgaria are also reportedly blocking the introduction of restrictive measures against the Russian nuclear giant.