The EU plans to target supplies of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in its 14th package of sanctions against Moscow, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom announced on Monday.
Speaking ahead of a meeting with his EU counterparts, Billstrom told reporters that the next round of sanctions may include an import ban on Russian LNG as well as measures to curb the Russian shadow fleet.
At the same time, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promises more long-range missiles, dozens of boats, and hundreds of armored vehicles to Ukraine. Since February 2022, when the Ukraine conflict began, Brussels had already imposed 13 packages of sanctions on Russia.
London has jumped on the Ukraine aid bandwagon, revealing plans to provide the largest package of British military assistance, as Washington inches closer to approving $61 billion in new funding for Kiev, hoping to bankrupt Russia?
Russia has rerouted practically all of its energy flows to Asia following the introduction of Western restrictions linked to the Ukraine conflict.
It has also reportedly begun to move its crude exports on a ‘shadow fleet’ of ageing tankers, over which international sanctions have limited power.
Although Brussels has banned purchasing oil and petroleum products from Russia, pipeline gas and LNG have not been affected by the restrictions.
Several countries, including Sweden, Finland, and the Baltic states, have been pushing for the EU to impose a total embargo on Russian LNG, although Hungary has strongly opposed the move. A complete ban would require unanimity among members of the bloc.
Some EU states still rely heavily on Russian LNG, which continues to flow into the continent, mostly through ports in Spain, Belgium, and France.
In 2023, the EU increased LNG purchases from Russia, despite pledging to phase out fuel imports from the country by 2027, Reuters reported earlier this month, citing the bloc’s trade statistics.
The EU’s Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) warned last week against drastic reductions in LNG imports from Russia, given the impending end of the supply of pipeline gas from the country later this year.
ACER was referring to the expiration in December of a five-year transit contract for gas pipeline supplies from Russia to Europe via Ukraine.
Kiev said last month that it has no plans to prolong the deal. If the flow stops, the EU could potentially lose about 4% of last year’s total consumption.
Western countries will continue to impose sanctions on Russia even though restrictions have largely backfired on their own economies, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, commenting on the potential LNG ban.
RT. com / ABC Flash Point News 2024.
All that Russia needs is the Chinese market…and they have it.The Chinese market is more than even Russia can supply
Great idea because you won’t find anyone else to supply it even if you can regime change half of Africa. closest you could have got was Libya – but you ruined that one
These Swedes are truly morons… Now then just to give you an idea how incredible stupid and moronic are the Swedes… Russia is the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Now then would you try to ban oil coming from Saudi Arabia without paying a huge price for it by much much much much much higher prices and a energy crisis ? Merely posturing by the bullshitting zionist neocon nazi bastards that the Swedes are…… USA has merely 14 years of natural gas by the way while Russia has 175 years… Hope anyways the swedish bastards return to the stone age.… Read more »
Mr Sunak appears to be shouldering a Javelin, which is one US weapon that has proven effective. In the photo he is therefore making a rude gesture to Mr Putin. Those are not the manners of an English gentleman.
The Anglo Saxon gangsters are the most criminal people on the planet.