Singapore is imposing sanctions on Russia, including bank transactions

24 July, 2023: On Monday, Singapore will impose “appropriate sanctions and restrictions” on Russia, its foreign minister said, which includes banking and financial measures and export controls on items that could be used as weapons against the people of Ukraine.

The short city-state, an Asian financial center, and critical international shipping hub complies with United Nations Security Council resolutions but rarely issues sanctions of its own against countries.

“Singapore intends to act in concert with many other like-minded countries to impose appropriate sanctions and restrictions against Russia,” Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan told parliament, which describes Russia’s invasion as unacceptable and a gross violation of international norms.

He said that the sanctions were due to the “unprecedented gravity” of the situation and Russia’s veto in the previous week of a draft Security Council resolution.

“In particular, we can impose export controls on items that can be used directly as weapons in Ukraine to inflict harm or to subjugate the Ukrainians,” he said.

“We will block certain Russian banks and financial transactions connected to Russia,” he added.

Balakrishnan said that the specific measures were being worked out and would be announced shortly.

Singapore’s move is the special among its regional neighbors and comes independent of the Association of 10-member Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), of which it is a member.

On Saturday, the bloc called for a de-escalation of the conflict and dialogue and respect of international law and U.N. commitments