UK Defense Minister John Healey met with his Baltic and Northern European counterparts to discuss the possibility of confiscating oil tankers linked to Russia's shadow fleet. Europe aims to tighten restrictions on Moscow's war economy almost four years after its invasion of Ukraine. This was reported by Bloomberg, according to UNN.
Details
The Joint Expeditionary Force meeting took place during the Munich Security Conference.
According to preliminary information, the Joint Expeditionary Force is a group of 10 countries with shared commitments to the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea.
The meeting underscored the growing willingness of allied countries to do more to cut off the revenues funding Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. Putin's troops have made costly but steady gains in Ukraine in recent months
The atmosphere and understanding were that we need to be more proactive
He added that countries providing flags to shadow fleet vessels should be aware that there are "measures that can be taken by other countries."
At the same time, Pevkur noted that additional discussions are needed before decisions are made, while Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said that some countries remain cautious due to "fear of escalation."
Additionally
The Joint Expeditionary Force could reinforce the US ban on tanker traffic to and from Venezuela after President Nicolas Maduro's seizure. Several such vessels had ties to Russia.
The shadow fleet consists of approximately 1,500 tankers that use false flags to appear legitimate while not adhering to regulations. More than 600 of them are already under EU, UK, and US sanctions due to their ties to Russia.
Recall
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on sanctions against 91 maritime vessels of Russia's shadow fleet. These vessels were used to transport oil in circumvention of sanctions.