BRUSSELS, Oct 5 — The EU has agreed a new round of sanctions against Russia after Moscow’s annexation of four regions in Ukraine, the Czech presidency of the bloc said today.

The latest package — the eighth since Russia’s invasion in February — is now going through a final approval procedure which, if no objections emerge, will be published and come into effect on Thursday, the Czech Republic’s EU ambassador said on Twitter.

"We have just reached a political agreement on new sanctions against Russia — a strong EU response to Putin’s illegal annexation of territories,” ambassador Edita Hrda said.

The details of the sanctions package were not given, but EU ambassadors discussing potential measures over the past few days have focused on seeking to impose a price cap on Russian oil transported around the world.

They were also looking at expanding the blacklist of people subject to EU travel bans and asset freezes for their role backing the Kremlin’s announced annexations. — AFP