EU disappointed by US easing of oil sanctions against Russia
Kyiv • UNN
The EU criticizes the US decision to extend the waiver of sanctions on Russian oil. Valdis Dombrovskis called for increased pressure on Moscow instead of easing it.
Brussels has criticized the US decision to extend the sanctions waiver on the sale of Russian oil, warning that the move will only increase Moscow's financial profits since the start of the war with Iran, UNN reports, citing Euractiv.
Details
"From the EU's perspective, we do not believe now is the time to ease pressure on Russia," EU Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters on Tuesday ahead of a meeting of G7 finance ministers in Paris.
"In fact, Russia is benefiting from the war in Iran and the rise in fossil fuel prices," he added. "Accordingly, we need to increase this pressure."
These statements came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Monday evening a 30-day extension of the sanctions waiver for Russian oil already at sea.
This is the second 30-day extension by Washington of the sanctions waiver introduced in March, as US President Donald Trump's administration seeks to curb the surge in oil prices caused by the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February.
The conflict, which is currently under a fragile truce, has been accompanied by repeated strikes on Middle Eastern energy infrastructure. It has also led to Iran and the US imposing a de facto double blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical energy hub through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas supplies passed before the war.
The surge in energy prices has brought immense benefits to the Russian economy, which is heavily dependent on fossil fuel exports and has been hit by numerous packages of Western sanctions since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The Finnish think tank Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air reported last week that Russia's fossil fuel export revenues rose to 733 million euros per day in April: the highest level in two and a half years.
Markets also remained on edge Tuesday morning after Trump announced the cancellation of a strike on Iran at the request of Gulf leaders. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading at around $110 a barrel—roughly $40 a barrel more than before the war began.
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