In defiance of Trump, UK & EU refuse to ease oil sanctions on Russia

BRUSSELS  (TIP):  In defiance of US President Donald Trump, the United Kingdom and European Union (EU) have refused to ease sanctions on Russian oil. British energy minister Michael Shanks on Friday said the government would not change its position on Russian oil sanctions despite Trump’s action.

The Trump administration on Thursday removed sanctions on Russian oil for a month and said countries could buy Russian oil that was already in the sea. The move was purportedly aimed at easing energy prices that have skyrocketed as a result of the American-Israeli war on Iran, but critics have said it would allow a windfall gain for Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who would use the proceeds to repair his country’s ailing economy.

In an interview with Sky News, Shanks echoed the fear and said the Kremlin would see Trump’s relief as “an opportunity to fix some of their ailing economy”.

“That is a great shame because we have to do everything that we possibly can to make sure that we are bringing all pressure to bear on Russia so that we can win this war in Ukraine. We will keep up our sanctions, and we’ll continue to do what we are doing around the shadow fleet, and we’re not going to change our position on that at all,” Shanks further said.

While the British stance risks invoking a fresh row with Trump, it adds to the European unity in the face of the Russian aggression. Valdis Dombrovskis, the European Commissioner for the Economy, said on Tuesday that easing Russian sanctions would be “self-defeating”. “From the European Union’s point of view, the situation is very clear: we must continue to exert maximum pressure on Russia and, indeed, the current oil and gas price spike may provide windfall revenues for Russia,” Dombrovskis further said. Echoing the British point of view, Dombrovskis said that easing Russian sanctions would “reinforce Russia’s capacity to wage war, undermining Ukraine, undermining our support for Ukraine and also undermining the goals which the US and Israel are trying to reach in Iran”.