The Faroese parliament has unanimously passed a bill authorizing sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

The Faroese government has said it condemns Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine and confirmed that its own sanctions will be similar to those of the European Union and other “like-minded partners” who are trying to compel Russia to cease its aggression and withdraw its armed forces. Ukrainian forces. Because the Faroe Islands are outside the EU, the sanctions implemented by the bloc were not legally binding on the country. The new bill was necessary to provide the legal framework necessary for the application of the sanctions.

Thanks to the new sanctions, the Faroe Islands will ban Russian vessels from entering its ports, but the ban will not apply to fishing boats – similar to the sanctions implemented by Norway.

A government statement said the sanctions do not include fishing vessels because the Faroe Islands and Russia have cooperated in fisheries for decades. This cooperation includes the joint management of fish stocks in the North Atlantic, which represent some of the largest fisheries by volume in the world.

“This cooperation is a necessity for the joint management of fisheries. Along with some like-minded partners, the Faroese government takes into account the potential long-term destabilizing consequences of a port closure for Russian fishing vessels for this joint management. For these reasons, port closures will not apply to Russian fishing vessels,” the government statement read.

The government said the sanctions could impact a limited amount of goods transported between the two countries and that the country has already reduced its trade with Russia.

“Faroese seafood exports to Russia have fallen significantly since the start of the war, which is illustrated by the fact that March 2022 exports were only a third of 2021 exports,” the official said. government.

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