European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has denounced as “extraterritorial” US sanctions against various countries, saying the measure is against international regulations.

Borrell made the statement in an interview with Malaysia’s English-language daily newspaper The Straits Times on Sunday as he drew an analogy between the sanctions imposed by the United States and those by the European Union against Russia over its military campaign in Ukraine.

“Actually, the word ‘sanctions’ does not exist in any European treaties. The phrase used is ‘restrictive measures’. We restrict some actions, like buying Russian gas and selling Russia the electronics it needs to produce arms,” the European Union foreign policy chief said.

“There is a big difference between our restrictive measures and those taken by the United States. Our measures are not extraterritorial. We cannot ask an Indonesian company to conform to our laws. The Americans can – everybody must comply with their sanctions. We consider that to be against international law.”

“We don’t believe in imposing our laws on third countries; so, we cannot prevent Indian companies from buying Russian oil – and they are doing it.”

The war between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022, with NATO’s eastward expansion blamed for it.

The West accuses Russia of fighting a war of aggression against Ukraine. Moscow says the United States and NATO are fighting a proxy war against the country in Ukraine. 

Since the onset of the conflict, the United States and its European allies have unleashed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and poured a huge number of advanced weapons into Ukraine to help its military fend off Russian troops, despite repeated warnings by the Kremlin that such measures will only prolong the war.

Borrell: Peace something more than ‘not war’

Asked whether the European Union has a peace plan for Ukraine that would be acceptable to both sides, Borrell said, “Everybody wants peace, us too. And the ones who want peace the most are the Ukrainians. But what does peace mean? Peace is something more than ‘not war’. We should not confuse the terms.”

“If I want to stop the war, I know how to do it very quickly, in one week. I stop supporting Ukraine, stop sending arms to Ukraine and the war will stop because Ukraine will have to surrender. Would that mean peace? No. Peace is something more.”

Borrell said peace means to recognize the right of Ukraine to exist, to respect international borders, to arrange for war reparations and accountability from Russia.