U.S. and EU Discuss New “Robust Anniversary” Sanctions on Russia

The United States and the EU, together with partners, discussed this week the potential of slapping “robust” new sanctions on Russia ahead of the second anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a senior U.S. official told Reuters.

The partners met in Brussels and “Many of us are prepared to roll out quite robust anniversary packages,” the official told Reuters, as the anniversary of the February 24, 2022 invasion approaches.  

At the Brussels meeting, the U.S., the EU, the UK, and other partners took stock of the sanctions so far and new measures could include tightening sanctions enforcement and countering sanctions evasion, according to the official.  

The U.S. has stepped up sanctions enforcement since the autumn of 2023, which is said to have put a sizeable part of the tanker fleet used to carry Russian crude oil abroad out of commission. 

Separately, the EU is considering sanctions on three Chinese and one Indian firms over trade links with Russia, according to a draft proposal Bloomberg saw earlier this week.  

If the proposal wins backing from all EU member states, this would be the first time the bloc will have banned EU businesses from doing business with Chinese and Indian companies because of their links to Russia.   

As the EU – Russia’s previous top oil buyer – banned imports of Russian crude and fuels, Moscow turned to Asia, especially China and India, to place its crude oil.

China took in half of all the crude oil that Russia exported in 2023, with India a close second, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said at the end of last year.

China now accounts for 45% to 50% of Russian oil and fuel exports, while India is taking in some 40%, Novak said. The increase is particularly remarkable for India, where Russia exported almost no oil whatsoever until 2022. Now, it is the subcontinent’s leading supplier. 

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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