Amsterdam,Nov 21 (UNI) The Netherlands called for additional sanctions targeting Russia’s “shadow fleet” and oil companies during a meeting with EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said.
Emphasising the importance of intensifying pressure on Moscow, Weel wrote on X, “We reaffirmed the need to increase EU support to Ukraine and ramp up pressure on Russia to stop its war of aggression. I called for urgent financial, military and energy support, as well as additional sanctions against Russian shadow fleet vessels and oil companies."
The call comes after the EU adopted its 19th sanctions package against Russia at the end of October. That package targeted 117 vessels linked to the Russian shadow fleet, bringing the total number of vessels under EU sanctions to 564, Weel noted.
This comes a month after the US has announced new sanctions targeting Russia's two largest oil companies in an effort to pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said a planned meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Budapest would be shelved indefinitely.
“Every time I speak to Vladimir, I have good conversations and then they don't go anywhere,” Trump said.
While the economic impact on Russia is expected to be minimal, the move marks a major shift in Trump’s foreign policy. He had previously said he would not impose sanctions until European nations stopped buying Russian oil. The Kremlin responded by saying Russia was “immune” to the measures.
The development follows the UK’s decision just days earlier to sanction the same two Russian oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil. European union member states have also introduced new sanctions that will ban the import of Russian liquefied natural gas starting January 2027.
Trump had repeatedly threatened tougher US measures against Moscow but had held back until now in the hope of brokering a peace deal in the three-and-a-half-year-long invasion.
UNI AAB