France is “reasonably optimistic” that a deal can be reached, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, after some G7 countries expressed willingness to move forward with a ban on Russian oil shipping services.
“We hope to be able to include it in the 20th (EU) sanctions package, which we are actively preparing,” Barrot was quoted as saying by Reuters, speaking to reporters after a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Munich.
“Some G7 countries have expressed a willingness to move forward. The jury is still out, but my expectations are reasonably optimistic,” he added.
The minister’s remarks come as European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that she had a “good meeting” with US Senator Lindsey Graham and a bipartisan delegation of senators, meaning both Republican and Democratic representatives were involved.
“Now is the time to raise the cost of Russia’s war higher than ever. To bring Putin to the negotiating table with real intent,” she said, adding that sanctions are effective but work best when coordinated.
Further tightening of European sanctions against Russia?
Von Der Leyen also warned that the 20th European sanctions package would further increase pressure on Russia through energy, financial services and trade measures, while cracking down on attempts to circumvent them.
“We propose a total ban on maritime services, which may further isolate Russia and reduce its fossil fuel revenues, especially if closely coordinated with our G7 partners and the United States,” she wrote in the post.
A maritime embargo refers to restrictions imposed on shipping services that prevent the transport of certain goods, such as oil, from specific countries.
While the G7 group, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the EU, has almost completely curbed Russian oil imports from 2022, the new proposal would be the closest to a complete ban on Russian oil and fuel trade, not only at the import level but also at the shipping and maritime services level, Reuters said in an earlier report.
In another incident, five European countries concluded that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned by a deadly poison from the skin of a bullfrog and accused the Russian government of being responsible for the attack, Von Der Leyen said in a separate tweet.