Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the United States’ decision to temporarily ease sanctions on Russian oil sales could bring Moscow about $10 billion in additional revenue, warning that the move would directly undermine efforts to end Ukraine’s war.According to Agence France-Presse, Zelensky and French President Macron said at a press conference in Paris that “this concession from the United States alone will provide Russia with approximately $10 billion in war funds. This will certainly not help peace.”Zelensky’s comments came after Washington announced a 30-day license to allow countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products that have been stranded at sea, a measure the United States said was aimed at cooling global energy prices that have soared after the Iran war.
Zelensky and Macron oppose U.S. move
Macron backed Kiev’s concerns, saying Russia would be “wrong” if it thought conflict in the Middle East would reduce international pressure on Moscow.“Today, Russia may have thought that a war with Iran would give it some breathing room. That would be wrong,” Macron told a joint news conference.He added that G7 leaders had made clear earlier this week that higher oil prices “should under no circumstances lead us to reconsider our sanctions policy against Russia.”The French leader’s comments reflected growing unease in Europe that a temporary lifting of sanctions could strengthen Russian President Vladimir Putin at a time when oil prices are rising due to the crisis in the Middle East.
U.S. says exemptions are temporary, aimed at calming markets
The U.S. Treasury Department issued a 30-day license, valid until April 11, for the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that had been shipped as of March 12.U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said the short-term move was aimed at “stabilizing global energy markets” and “expanding the global reach of existing supplies” after oil prices soared above $100 a barrel following the Iran war.Washington said the move would not bring significant economic benefits to the Russian government, Reuters reported. Prior to this, the United States issued a waiver specifically for India on March 5, allowing India to purchase Russian oil that had been stranded at sea.The easing of sanctions comes as the United States and the International Energy Agency also move to release large amounts of emergency oil stockpiles to curb soaring oil prices.
Paris talks focus on pressure on Russia
Zelensky’s 12th visit to France since Russia’s full-scale invasion of France in 2022 is aimed at increasing pressure on Russia, especially against Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet” of oil tankers used to transport oil in violation of sanctions.The Paris talks are also overshadowed by concerns that war in the Middle East has undermined U.S.-brokered peace talks between Kiev and Moscow.German Chancellor Friedrich Mertz also criticized the U.S. move on Friday, saying “relaxing sanctions now would be a mistake for whatever reason,” AFP reported.The Kremlin, meanwhile, said the Paris meeting would hinder the peace process and called attempts to pressure Russia “ridiculous.”
Wider war and new battlefield pressures
The debate over sanctions comes as the war in Ukraine continues to intensify. A Russian attack in eastern Ukraine on Friday killed three people on a bus near Kupiansk, where Russian troops were trying to regain ground.Zelenskiy’s visit comes amid new political friction in Europe, with Hungary blocking a key EU loan package of 90 billion euros for Ukraine and a new round of sanctions on Russia.The dispute is partly related to the damaged Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia, and which Kyiv said was affected by a Russian attack earlier this year.The temporary U.S. oil exemption, announced against a backdrop of soaring global energy prices and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, thus opens up new fault lines between Washington and its European allies, even as Kyiv warns it could exacerbate a war the West says it wants to end.