It can – in what would become the 19th sanctions package against Russia since the full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine began in 2022 – also become relevant to impose sanctions on Russia's payment and credit card system as well as cryptocurrency exchanges. In addition, the EU is considering tightened sanctions against Russia's oil trade, according to the anonymous sources.
EU delegation to Washington
The EU – which is also considering introducing new export bans on, among other things, chemicals used by the Russian defense industry – hopes to be able to coordinate some of the new sanctions with the Trump administration.
Information about new sanctions against Russia comes ahead of an EU delegation traveling to Washington DC to meet with American counterparts and discuss the possibility of joint actions. The EU's delegation, led by sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan, will meet on Monday and Tuesday, reports AFP.
President Donald Trump and his finance minister Scott Bessent have, ahead of this, signaled that the US is also considering new sanctions against Russia. But according to the US energy minister Chris Wright, EU countries should stop buying Russian oil and gas if they want to see tightened US sanctions against Russia.
Purchase from the US instead
According to Wright – who thinks that EU countries should instead buy fossil gas, petrol, and other oil products from the US – EU payments for Russian oil and gas contribute to Putin's war machine.
If the Europeans put their foot down and said "We will not buy more Russian gas, we will not buy more Russian oil". Would that have a positive impact on the US when it comes to tougher sanctions? Absolutely, says Wright in an interview with the Financial Times ahead of a meeting with EU colleagues in Brussels.
