Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree suspending double tax treaties with 38 “unfriendly countries” including Cyprus.

Back in March, Russia’s foreign and finance ministries had proposed the measure should be implemented against all countries that adopted sanctions against Russia.

The proposal was signed into a decree Tuesday, to include nation states such as the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and Singapore.

EU states such as Belgium, Italy, France and Cyprus were also named in the 38 countries.

The decree states the measure to suspend double tax treaties was “based on the need to take urgent measures in connection with the commission of unfriendly actions by a number of foreign states against the Russian Federation, its citizens and legal entities.”

Putin has ordered all relevant bills are submitted to the State Duma. The decree is effective immediately and the foreign ministry has been tasked with informing all affected nation states about the decision.

According to sources cited by the Cyprus News Agency, Russian officials had a series of contacts with a number of countries, including Cyprus, ahead of the decision. Moscow reportedly committed that it would take into consideration the special circumstances and other reasonable objections surrounding the double tax treaty developments.

The double tax treaty between Russia and Cyprus has been in place since 1998.