The new measures targeting Russia’s aluminium and oil exports come as Brussels fears Trump could ease US sanctions on Moscow as part of a peace deal struck with President Vladimir Putin without Europe’s involvement.
Following the conclusion of the first formal day of US-Russia peace talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday. US secretary Marco Rubio hinted that EU restrictions on Russia's economy, defence industry and oligarchs who help to maintain the war could be part of the negations.
“The European Union is going to have to be at the table at some point, because they have sanctions as well that have been imposed,” Rubio told reporters.
“There’s deep concern about how we [the EU] can keep up economic pressure on Russia if the US delinks its sanctions from ours,” said one EU official involved in the package. Most western sanctions imposed on Russia since 2022 have been co-ordinated by the G7 to ensure maximum impact.
The sanction marks the 16th package imposed by the bloc against Russia since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The sanctions imposes a "phased-in" ban on imports of Russian aluminium products and further tightens measures targeting its crude oil sales, according to people briefed on its contents.
The sanctions target 73 fleet tankers used by Moscow to export crude oil in violation of western restrictions, 13 Russian banks and scores of individuals and companies deemed to be helping the Russian war effort. It was agreed by ambassadors from all the EU's 27 member states on Wednesday, ahead of a formal adoption by foreign ministers next week.
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