The US remains “widely engaged” with the EU on the need to reduce Russia’s oil revenues, the EU’s chief economist has said, amid fears that rising energy prices caused by the US-Israeli attack on Iran could help Moscow finance its war against Ukraine.
Washington told G7 finance ministers on Monday that it is DECISION Last week, to give Indian refiners a 30-day waiver to buy sanctioned Russian oil was “too restrained both in terms of timing and scope”, European Economic Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters on Monday night.
“It is important that we do not now ease the pressure on Russia and help Russia fill its war chest by using this situation of high oil and gas prices,” Dombrovskis said. “So that’s why it’s important that we stay the course with our sanctions… The US is broadly aligned with that approach.”
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose to $119 a barrel on Monday morning – the highest level since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. It then fell to $90 a barrel after Trump’s price claim Late Monday that the war was “pretty much complete,” and the announcement that G7 finance ministers were considering releasing their countries’ strategic oil reserves.
Dombrovskis said no decision had been made on releasing oil reserves on Monday, but that G7 energy ministers would discuss the matter further tomorrow. “We have to keep a cool head, so to speak, and continue (to) monitor the situation,” he said.
India has sharply increased its purchases of Russian energy since Moscow’s full invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But New Delhi’s imports of Russian oil have fallen sharply since US President Donald Trump’s decision in October to sanctions Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil.
Trump too reduced rates in India from 50% to 18% last month after striking a deal with New Delhi that he claimed would see the world’s most populous country “stop” buying Russian energy.
Dombrovski’s remarks also come as an EU proposal The 20th package of sanctions against Moscow, which includes a proposed ban on the provision of maritime services to ships carrying Russian oil, is being maintained by Hungary and Slovakia, two of the EU member states friendliest to Moscow.
Announcing the waiver on Friday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described it as a “stop-gap measure” that would “alleviate the pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to hijack global energy.”
(aw)
