File photo: Ukrainian President Zelensky (Image source: AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the US decision to temporarily ease sanctions on Russian oil sales could give Moscow additional revenues of about $10 billion, warning that this step would directly undermine efforts to end the war in Ukraine.“This single concession by the United States could give Russia about 10 billion dollars for the war. This certainly does not help peace,” Zelensky said at a press conference in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, according to Agence France-Presse.
Iran helps Putin achieve major victory with siege of Hormuz; Trump is on his knees as the US lifts restrictions on Russian oil
Zelensky’s comments came after Washington announced a 30-day license allowing countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products already stuck at sea, a measure the United States says is aimed at calming global energy prices that have soared after the war in which Iran took part.
Zelensky and Macron resist the American move
In support of Kiev’s concerns, Macron said that Russia was “wrong” if it believed that the conflict in the Middle East would ease international pressure on Moscow.Macron said during the joint press conference: “Today, Russia may think that the war in Iran will give it a respite. This is wrong.”He added that G7 leaders made clear earlier this week that rising oil prices “should in no way prompt us to reconsider our sanctions policy toward Russia.”
The French President’s statements reflect growing concern in Europe that the temporary easing of sanctions may strengthen the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin at a time when oil prices are already rising due to the Middle East crisis.
The United States says the waiver is temporary and aims to calm markets
The US Treasury has issued a 30-day license valid until April 11 for the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that have already been loaded onto ships by March 12.US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said the short-term move aims to “stabilize global energy markets” and “increase global access to existing supplies” after oil prices rose above $100 a barrel in the wake of the war on Iran.According to Reuters, Washington said that this step would not provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government. The measure followed an earlier US waiver issued on March 5 specifically for India to allow the purchase of Russian oil already stuck at sea.The easing of sanctions comes as the United States and the International Energy Agency also move to release large emergency oil stockpiles to contain rising prices.
The Paris talks focus on pressuring Russia
Zelensky’s twelfth visit to France since the large-scale Russian invasion in 2022 was aimed at increasing pressure on Russia, in particular by targeting Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers used to transport oil in violation of sanctions.The talks in Paris were also overshadowed by concerns that the Middle East war could derail US-brokered efforts to revive peace negotiations between Kiev and Moscow.On Friday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz also criticized the American move, saying that “easing sanctions now, for any reason, is wrong,” according to Agence France-Presse.Meanwhile, the Kremlin said that the Paris meeting would hinder the peace process, considering that trying to pressure Russia was “ridiculous.”
A broader war and a new breed on the battlefield
The debate over sanctions comes as the war in Ukraine continues to intensify. On Friday, a Russian strike in eastern Ukraine killed three people on a bus near Kubyansk, where Russian forces are trying to regain control of the territory.Zelensky’s visit also comes amid new political rifts in Europe, with Hungary blocking a major €90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine, as well as a new round of sanctions on Russia.The dispute is partly linked to the damaged Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia and which Kiev says was hit by Russian strikes earlier this year.The temporary US oil waiver, announced against the backdrop of rising global energy prices and turmoil in the Strait of Hormuz, has opened a new fault line between Washington and its European allies, even as Kiev warns it risks inflaming the very war the West says it wants to end.
