European countries have pushed back against Donald Trump’s decision to ease some US sanctions on Russian oil amid Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, insisting the international community should maintain pressure on Moscow over its war against Ukraine. The UK has joined Germany, France and Norway in rejecting the move, with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper decrying what she said was Russia and Iran’s attempt to “hijack the global economy”.
Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, described Washington’s move to temporarily waive sanctions on Russian oil stranded at sea as “wrong”, as the Trump administration attempted to counter a surge in oil prices. Merz said: “We believe it is wrong to ease the sanctions. Unfortunately, Russia continues to show no willingness to negotiate. We will therefore, and must, further increase the pressure on Moscow.” The chancellor insisted that support for Ukraine should continue despite the conflict in the Middle East.
The decision came as US and Israeli jets continued to pound Iran and Lebanon in a deepening regional conflagration that has choked global oil supplies. The Middle East conflict has all but closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and seaborne gas tankers pass. Trump admitted for the first time that Russia had been assisting Iran during the conflict, saying in an interview: “[Putin] might be helping a little bit, yeah, I guess.”
Merz’s comments follow similar remarks from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said after a call with other G7 leaders that the paralysis of the Strait of Hormuz “in no way” justified lifting sanctions on Russia. Moscow, however, claimed it was “increasingly inevitable” that Washington would lift the sanctions, with Russia’s economic envoy Kirill Dmitriev writing on Telegram that the US was “effectively acknowledging the obvious: without Russian oil, the global energy market cannot remain stable”.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the war in the Gulf was “not good for Ukraine”, adding: “It’s understandable that the attention of the world moving to Middle East. It’s not good for us.” Brent crude remained above $100 a barrel during early trading on Friday, despite the US measure designed to soothe concerns around the economic impact of the war. The Trump administration last week permitted Indian refiners to temporarily buy Russian oil for 30 days, with tankers carrying Russian oil being immediately rerouted to India, according to Lloyd’s List.
