The European Council said Russia should revoke the addition of five EU member states to the list of countries to which Russia can apply measures in "Response to Unfriendly Actions of Foreign States." The countries are Greece, Denmark, Croatia, Slovakia and Slovenia. The allegations of unfriendly actions are "unfounded and unacceptable," the council said a July 22 news release. It called the move "yet another step by Russia towards continued escalation of tensions with" the EU. The council said the list of "unfriendly" states is "incompatible" with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

The EU added four individuals and one entity to its Syria sanctions regime, the European Council announced. The sanctions move addresses the Syrian state's efforts to provide support to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Added were Saleh Al-Abdullah, a high-ranking military official; Wagner Group-supervised Sanad Protection and Security Services and co-owners Ahmed Khalil Khalil and Nasser Deeb Deeb; and Issam Shammout, Cham Wings airline owner.

The U.N., Russia, Ukraine and Turkey agreed to a deal to allow safe passage of Ukrainian agricultural exports through the Black Sea, the State Department said last week. The deal -- which is expected to be “fully operational” in a few weeks, Reuters reported July 22 -- comes amid months of halted Ukrainian exports of grain and other staple food crops (see 2204080037). The agreement is a “positive step towards addressing the far-reaching impacts of Russia’s war,” the State Department said, but stressed that Russia must be held “accountable for this deal, ending its effective blockade of Ukraine’s ports.”

The U.K. released a General License July 22 covering payments to British insurance companies for building and engineering insurance. Under the license, individuals and entities listed solely by the U.K. and not the U.N. may make permitted payments for an indefinite duration to U.K. insurers from a frozen U.K. bank account. The license further allows U.K. insurers to receive these payments. U.K. insurers can also make return payments to frozen bank accounts for the payment of funds due from a claim made relating to the permitted payments or due to overpayment, and the designated parties can receive return payments in the frozen account.

The U.K.'s Westminster Magistrates Court on July 18 amended two account freezing orders (AFO) issued by the National Crime Agency against two companies that were managing the financial and security needs of sanctioned Russian oligarch Petr Aven, the EU Sanctions blog reported. Aven led Russia's largest commercial bank Alfa Bank until March. In June, the U.K.'s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation granted a basic needs license on behalf of Aven for funds to be paid to and from the accounts under the AFOs. While the court said the AFO and OFSI regimes held different purposes, it found it appropriate to vary the terms of the AFOs to be consistent with the terms of a basic needs license granted by OFSI to Aven, the blog post said.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq are sending more crude oil to Europe to boost the region's oil refineries in an effort to aid the pivot away from Russian oil. Over 1 million barrels a day of crude oil -- a number that has doubled from a year ago -- has crossed into Europe from the Middle East in the first three weeks of July through a pipeline that crosses Egypt, data compiled by Bloomberg reported July 22. Most of the oil shipments into Europe are from Saudi Arabia, where companies can deliver the oil via the SuMed pipeline or on smaller ships through the Suez Canal. Iraq is sending its oil via the Suez Canal, with 1.2 million barrels a day being shipped toward the canal from the Persian Gulf in the first three weeks of July, Bloomberg said.

The EU dropped Cham Wings Airlines from its Belarus sanctions regime, the European Council announced. The Syrian operator was listed in December for facilitating the transport of migrants to Belarus who sought to enter the EU. "The Council took the decision to delist Cham Wings, as it considered that the restrictive measures brought the desired effect with regards to this entity," an EU spokesperson said, Reuters reported July 20. "According to information presented to the Council, Cham Wings ceased its involvement in the activities for which it was listed."

The U.K. on July 20 signed an economic memorandum of understanding with North Carolina -- the second such agreement of its kind with a U.S. state following the agreement with Indiana, the Department for International Trade announced. The MOU will address "unnecessary barriers to trade, cut costs and slash paperwork so British and North Carolinian businesses can work together more efficiently." The agreement aims to increase growth in green trade, foster collaboration in clean tech and energy infrastructure, and eliminate trade barriers. The U.K. plans to sign similar agreements with Oklahoma and South Carolina, the DIT said.

The U.K. in a pair of financial sanctions notices amended one entry under its Libya sanctions regime and six under its Russian sanctions regime. On the Libya sanctions list, the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation amended the entry for Abu Zayd Umar Dorda, the director of Libya's external security organization. Under the Russian restrictions list, OFSI amended the entries for individuals Irina Sergeyevna Bubnova, member of the Strategic Culture Foundation; Sergei Sergeivich Ivanov, Alrosa board chairman; and Natalya Petrovna Skorokhodova, member of the Strategic Culture Foundation. OFSI also amended the entries for entities Djeco Group LP, Major LLP and Photon Pro LLP.

Turkey recently lifted export bans on butter and olive oil about five months after imposing restrictions (see 2203170012), the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service said in a July 20 report. The country replaced its butter export ban with a 7,000 metric ton monthly quota for July, August and September; it removed the ban on olive oil but didn't place a quota on it. The country hasn’t yet notified the changes to the World Trade Organization, USDA said.