Denmark should ‘consider banning Russian ships from Straits’: PACE Resolution

A Resolution passed on 26 June by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
(‘PACE’) has suggested that sanctions against Russia could be made more effective if
Russian vessels were to have navigation rights denied them in the Straits of Denmark.

The proposal is one of a number included in the Resolution. It reads,

‘The Danish Straits mostly lie within Danish territorial waters and represent a point of
passage for roughly one third of Russian oil exports. According to international law,
Denmark cannot impede the transit of foreign vessels through the Danish Straits,
unless they appear to be in violation of environmental rules. At the same time, the
European Union sanctions also apply to the territorial waters of its member States.

‘The Assembly therefore invites the Danish authorities, in co-operation with other
States and relevant international actors, to convene a reflection group to consider the
measures that Denmark can apply, in compliance with international law, to prevent
vessels from exploiting freedom of navigation in the Danish Straits to circumvent the
system of international sanctions.’

Among other suggestions by the Resolution are that other Council of Europe states
should:

‘Strengthen compliance with the oil price cap, by listing the vessels of the “shadow
fleet” assembled by the Russian Federation and its accomplices, banning them, and
establishing a whitelist of brokers authorised to provide information regarding
transactions under the price cap;

‘Ensure that other strategic sources of Russian income are also targeted, including
liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas, as well as agricultural, metallurgical and nuclear
industries, by banning both the direct import and the resale of related products; and,

‘Ban the export of critical raw materials, manufactured battlefield goods and dual-use
items to the Russian Federation, especially those that could contribute to the war
effort, and impede the access to their transportation hubs, services and financial
assistance to all carriers transporting these goods to the Russian Federation.’

See the PACE website for more at: https://pace.coe.int/en/files/33684/html