Ukraine war: PM to hold talks with world leaders on further sanctionson March 7, 2022 at 3:38 am

Boris Johnson is to hold talks with the Canadian and Dutch prime ministers in London as Western powers prepare to agree further sanctions on Russia.

It comes as the UK is allocating a further £74m to Ukraine’s government to help mitigate its financial pressures.

The PM has set out a six-point plan to keep pressure on President Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine.

Legislation to target money-laundering by oligarchs close to Mr Putin is also set to be passed in Parliament.

Mr Johnson is hosting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

He is expected to push for international leaders to take further action to remove Russia from the Swift banking payment system, and encourage them to support his proposals to tackle Russian aggression.

Meanwhile, the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said there were active discussions among allies to ban the import of Russian oil.

The UK government has announced asset freezes and travel bans on a number of oligarchs in recent days,

But it has faced accusations that it has been slow to sanction rich oligarchs and others with links to Mr Putin.

MPs are expected to vote through all stages of the Economic Crime Bill in a single sitting on Monday.

The bill will set up a new register that will mean foreign owners of UK property must declare and verify their identities with Companies House. It aims to stop overseas criminals and oligarchs from using agents to create companies or buy property for them in the UK.

In addition, new measures will make it simpler for UK authorities to sanction individuals, providing them with more time to carry out investigations, as well as protection from prohibitive legal costs.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the bill will “give us the chance to bring even more crippling sanctions against Putin and his regime”.

Labour said it will support the legislation, but wants the proposed timeframe for property owners to register to be cut from six months to 28 days.

And Conservative MP David Davis has tabled an amendment to the bill which would prevent anyone who the government is considering sanctioning from selling or moving assets out of the UK.

The extra financial help for Ukraine will be provided by the UK through the World Bank and could go towards supporting public sector salaries, allowing key state functions to keep operating, or supporting social safety nets and pensions. It is in addition to £220m pledged already.

In Ukraine, a second temporary ceasefire designed to allow civilians to leave their homes in two cities was broken at the weekend, with photos showing residents caught up in a Russian assault.

More than 1.5 million people have fled the country, according to the UN refugee agency.