https://www.ntd.com/live-updates-russia-ukraine-war-may-26_784879.html

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi by phone on Thursday that Russia was ready to help ease the international food crisis, but only if the West lifts sanctions, the Kremlin said.

“Vladimir Putin emphasized that the Russian Federation is ready to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis through the export of grain and fertilizers, provided that politically motivated restrictions from the West are lifted,” it said in a statement.

Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports has prevented it from shipping out grain, of which both countries are major exporters. Russia accuses Ukrainian of mining the ports.

The conflict is fuelling a global food crisis by sending prices for grains, cooking oils, fuel, and fertilizer soaring.

Separately, Russia’s defense ministry said civilian vessels may now safely use the Azov Sea port of Mariupol in Ukraine, where its forces took full control last week after Ukrainian fighters surrendered at the besieged Azovstal steelworks.

It said the danger from mines around Mariupol port had now been eliminated.

The ministry said six foreign dry cargo vessels in the port were now free to leave. It said they were from Bulgaria, Dominica, Liberia, Panama, Turkey, and Jamaica, and urged those governments to get the owners of the vessels to remove them.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/05/25/eu-proposes-to-make-breaking-russia-sanctions-a-crime/

On Wednesday, the EU’s European Commission proposed to make breaking EU sanctions on Russia a crime, which would make it easier for the bloc to confiscate assets of people and companies that evade sanctions.

“Today’s proposals aim to ensure that the assets of individuals and entities that violate the restrictive measures can be effectively confiscated in the future,” the European Commission said in a statement.

Confiscating assets means they can be taken, sold, and used by the EU as opposed to freezing them, which only denies the targeted person access to their assets.

Breaking Russia sanctions is currently a crime in 12 EU nations. In 13 EU countries, it is either a criminal offense or an administrative offense, and two EU members only consider it an administrative offense.

Wednesday’s proposal would make evading Russia sanctions a serious criminal offense in all 27 EU countries. It would mean the EU could confiscate the assets of anyone who helped facilitate the skirting of sanctions, including lawyers and bankers.

The EU is also considering selling off the assets of already-sanctioned individuals, including Russian billionaires, to use the funds for Ukraine. President Biden is looking for similar power, but the federal government seizing private property without due process is a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment.