New sanctions package against Russia delays issue regarding Russian tankers

Discussions with the G7 countries on maritime sanctions have been ongoing all week, and have caused a delay in the announcement of the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia.

The announcement of the new package of sanctions was expected on Wednesday, February 4, writes European Pravda.  

Several EU diplomats in Brussels, who are familiar with the progress of the negotiations, reported that the proposal to include in the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia a complete ban on the provision of maritime services in the EU to tankers carrying Russian oil, has delayed the process of preparing the package of sanctions – due to the coordination of this initiative at the G7 level.

“The inclusion of the G7 countries, and primarily the United States and Great Britain, in the ban on Russian oil shipments would make this measure more painful for Russia and its economy, and would also remove objections from a number of EU maritime states, whose budgets depend largely on port revenues,” the diplomats noted. At the same time, it is not excluded that the 20th package of sanctions will be announced as early as Friday, February 6, or on Monday, February 9.

 As previously reported by USM, France demands that the 20th package of EU sanctions hit the Russian “shadow fleet” hard.