Russia is not amused.
Moscow on Thursday blasted the European Union’s plan to permanently ban Russian oil imports, with Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova calling the proposal madness and suggesting only a “madman” would even float the idea. The language was vintage Kremlin — theatrical, indignant, and aimed as much at European voters as at Brussels policymakers.
The European Commission is preparing to submit a legal proposal on April 15 to make the ban permanent, according to EU officials and a document seen by Reuters. The timing? Just three days after Hungary’s parliamentary election. Budapest has been the bloc’s most reluctant voice on energy sanctions, and the sequencing is unlikely to be accidental.
But the import ban is only one piece of a broader squeeze. The Commission has also proposed a full ban on maritime services supporting Russia’s seaborne crude exports — a step that would go well beyond the existing price-cap regime. Under the current framework, Russian crude can move with Western shipping and insurance services so long as it is sold below the G7-agreed cap, now set at roughly $44 per barrel.
An outright services ban would upend that system.
More than a third of Russia’s oil exports still move on Western tankers, many linked to shipping hubs in Greece, Cyprus, and Malta. Those cargoes largely flow to India and China. Cutting off maritime services would effectively render the price cap obsolete and force Moscow to rely even more heavily on its so-called shadow fleet.
EU sanctions envoy David O’Sullivan said Brussels favors the maritime ban but wants coordination with G7 partners before moving ahead. Diplomats say U.S. backing is critical and not guaranteed. Washington has sanctioned Rosneft and Lukoil with asset freezes, but has not fully embraced the broader coalition approach.
For Moscow, the rhetoric is fiery. For Brussels, the strategy is incremental but escalating.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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