Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his European counterparts on the reasons for which the value of imports between Russia and most EU countries increased between 2021 and 2022; and if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of sanctions placed on Russia by (a) the UK and (b) its allies.

The Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and other Ministers are in regular contact with their European counterparts, including at UNGA, G7 and G20 meetings. Our sanctions against Russia are working, its GDP is forecast to be 11% smaller in 2026 than it was prior to the invasion of Ukraine and will not return to pre-invasion levels until 2027 at the earliest. Furthermore, Russia's imports of its most critical goods are down by over 50% overall, with Russia's military facing enormous replenishment challenges.