Canada expands sanctions on 14 Russian individuals, 34 firms

MOSCOW/PARIS, Apr 12 (PRIME) -- Canada has expanded its anti-Russian sanctions by blacklisting 14 new individuals and 34 firms, including head of the republic of Tatarstan Rustem Minnikhanov and the Volga-Dnepr group of companies, the government said in a statement late on Tuesday.

The list of sanctioned individuals also includes Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov and Volga-Dnepr CEO Alexei Isaikin, while the list of companies includes semiconductor producer Angstrem, Ural Works of Civil Aviation, Sokol Aircraft Plant, Production Association Strela, and others.

Canada also slapped sanctions on tycoon Yevgeny Prigozhin’s company Concord Management and Consulting, as well as M Invest and the Officers Union for International Security, both affiliated with Prigozhin.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra said separately in a Twitter statement that the Netherlands should work together with France to keep pressure on Russia with the help of sanctions.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna are visiting the Netherlands from Tuesday through Wednesday, and Hoekstra met with Colonna to discuss cooperation of the two countries in the framework of the E.U., the U.N., and NATO. The Ukrainian conflict poses big tasks before the two countries, and they should continue exerting pressure on Russia with sanctions, he said.

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