Government’s hesitancy on sanctions is “embarrassing”

There have been internal disagreements in the government coalition with regards to authorising the foreign minister to impose sanctions on Russia.

Two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, this lack of action is “unethical and embarrassing for the Faroe Islands”, according to Aksel V. Johannesen, leader of opposition party Javnaðarflokkurin.

“Russia is destroying Ukraine, and thousands of innocent people are being killed,” he says.

“It is not enough that we simply condemn Russia for doing this. We need to cut all trade ties with Russia immediately.”

 >> SEE ALSO Opposition: cut all trade ties with Russia

He adds that MPs voted in favour of granting the foreign minister the power to impose sanctions, but the support from the government, especially Fólkaflokkurin, was inconsistent.

“Cutting trade ties with Russia would be costly for the Faroes in the short term, but there are other values at play here,” says Johannesen.

“Fólkaflokkurin does not fully support trade sanctions against Russia, and I think that is an embarrassment for our country.”

 >> SEE ALSO PM: food exports to Russia can continue

Prime Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen, representing government party Sambandsflokkurin, denies allegations that the government does not want to implement sanctions against Russia.

“As I have said since the start of this war, we will be acting in line with Western policy with regards to sanctions against Russia,” he says.

“We want to make sure that our sanctions serve the intended purpose, i.e. targeting those responsible for the war. There are still no clear indications that an embargo on food exports serves this purpose.”

The Faroese have a similar fish trade agreement with Russia as Norway, and foreign minister Jenis av Rana said earlier this week that the government is awaiting a decision from Norwegian authorities regarding a ban on Russian ships entering Faroese ports.

Read the Faroese versions of this article here, here and here.

More Faroese News in English.