European leaders are preparing to demand tougher sanctions against Russia at a summit on Thursday, October 15. This will put them at odds with U.S. President Donald Trump just days after he struck a deal with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to ease restrictions on Russian diesel fuel exports. Politico reports, writes UNN.
Details
EU leaders plan to call for "further sanctions and measures targeting Moscow’s oil revenues" at a European Council meeting, according to a recent draft of a joint statement, as EU governments reject Trump’s claim that he has secured an "energy truce" between Russia and Ukraine.
The disagreement, the outlet notes, "lays bare the growing divide over how to bring Moscow to the negotiating table." While Trump seeks to lower fuel prices in the United States by allowing more Russian diesel fuel to reach global markets, European leaders argue that restricting the Kremlin’s energy revenues remains essential to forcing Putin to end the war.
"Russia is not interested in de-escalation, a ceasefire, or peace," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a security conference in Warsaw on October 12. "That is why I will go to Brussels to ask my partners to seriously consider tightening sanctions against Russia."
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also called for further restrictions, pointing to Moscow’s ongoing attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure despite Trump’s announcement of a truce.
"Russia will negotiate in good faith only under pressure," Merz said on October 12. "After Moscow’s reckless attacks on Ukraine’s civilian energy supplies, we must further strengthen [the sanctions]."
The push, the outlet writes, came after EU foreign ministers on October 12 approved the largest expansion in the bloc’s history of its sanctions list against Russia, covering more than 1,600 individuals and organizations.
"The European Commission is also preparing its 23rd package of sectoral sanctions, which Kyiv expects will be circulated among EU governments by the end of the year," according to a senior Ukrainian official.
Other European countries hold a similar position. The United Kingdom and Norway have also pledged to increase pressure on Moscow, the outlet writes.
"It is important to impose sanctions against Russia so that it does not finance the war," Norwegian Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik said, calling for loopholes in the existing restrictions to be closed.
Trump’s Election Calculation
Behind closed doors, many European diplomats believe that Trump’s abrupt shift toward easing restrictions on Russian energy is driven mainly by domestic political concerns ahead of next month’s midterm elections in the United States.
This is a "widely held view" among EU officials, according to one senior official.
The U.S. president, it is noted, is facing growing pressure over fuel prices, which have risen sharply since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. After promising during his 2024 campaign to bring gasoline prices below $2 per gallon, Trump now faces an electorate paying more than twice that amount, while Republicans risk losing control of Congress.
His deal with Putin is intended to release an additional 4.8 million tonnes of Russian diesel fuel onto global markets over the coming months, with the aim of easing pressure on fuel supplies and prices.
But European and Ukrainian officials question whether the additional supply will have a significant impact, saying that the total promised volume amounts to only about 10 days of U.S. demand. They believe the deal risks undermining efforts to deprive Moscow of the revenues financing its invasion.
The "reality" is that the additional fuel will have a "minimal" impact on prices in the United States, an EU senior official said.
"This is about midterm elections," said a second EU official. "He said he would lower prices, but then decided to start a war with Iran."
Officials also doubt whether putin intends to abide by the allegedly Trump-brokered "energy truce."
For now, the publication writes, most European officials are reluctant to publicly criticize Trump, despite any doubts about the agreement. The EU and Ukraine should maintain their position over the coming weeks, when the administration's long-term intentions toward Ukraine may become clearer, one diplomat said, adding that Trump could even change course again if putin does not deliver the promised diesel fuel.
Pressure on Washington
The dispute has also revived calls for Europe to urge Washington to impose its own sanctions on moscow.
Tusk called on Europe and the United States to act together to show russia that they are ready to impose tougher measures, while EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas urged Washington to coordinate its approach with Brussels.
Kallas pointed to sweeping legislation on sanctions against russia backed by the late Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, which Trump signed last month but has not yet fully implemented.
Some Republicans are also calling for tougher action. "I think we need to enact the sanctions bill against Russia," Republican Representative Dan Crenshaw said at a conference in Warsaw.
This, the publication writes, raises broader questions in Europe about its dependence on Washington, particularly amid reports that U.S. officials threatened to restrict Ukraine's access to American weapons if Kyiv did not stop attacking Russian oil refineries.
For now, there are "no signs" that Washington is carrying out these threats, a NATO official told the publication, arguing that restricting sales would also harm American arms manufacturers.
"PURL is a good deal for Americans," the official said, referring to the NATO initiative under which European allies finance purchases of American weapons for Ukraine.
EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius, while not commenting directly on these reports, said Europe urgently needs to assume "primary responsibility" for its own defense, as Washington reduces its military presence on the continent.
"However, the immediate test will come on Thursday, when EU leaders will try to maintain pressure on moscow, even as their most powerful ally moves in the opposite direction," the publication says.