Austria has lifted its blockage of a 12th package of EU sanctions on Russia after Ukraine took Raiffeisen Bank International off a blacklist, Ukraine's government website and an EU diplomat said on December 16. Austria had been pushing to get the bank struck off a Ukrainian list dubbed "international sponsors of war," which sets out to shame companies doing business in Russia and supporting the war effort by, for instance, paying taxes. The latest push underscores Austria's deep economic bond with Russia, the bank's determination to keep its profitable business there, as well as a fading wider Western drive to isolate Moscow.
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