Estonia may veto EU's 18th sanctions package if Russian oil price cap not lowered, foreign minister says
Estonia may veto the European Union's 18th sanctions package against Moscow if the Russian oil price cap is not lowered, Foreign Minister Margus Tsakhna told Estonian outlet ERR in an article published July 9.
"We have a very clear position: lowering the oil price ceiling should be included in this package. We have a very strong position on this issue," Tsakhna said.
The EU has been working on the sanctions package, but has been unable to pass it due to opposition from Slovakia, whose authorities have increasingly aligned themselves with Russia.
Estonia would like to pass the sanctions in their original form and opposes tweaking the package, Tsakhna said.
He noted that the 18th sanctions package was originally meant to include a tougher Russian oil price cap, lowering the maximum cost per barrel from $60 to $45.
There are signals that the Group of Seven (G7) nations are ready to impose an even lower Russian oil price cap, Tsakhna said.
He noted that if a strong 18th EU sanctions package were passed alongside a hard-hitting sanctions bill by the U.S. Senate, Russia would feel serious pressure.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said on June 29 that U.S. President Donald Trump was ready for the Senate to vote on a bill to impose new sanctions on Russia. The Republican senator has repeatedly called for implementing additional sanctions against Moscow.
The bloc will introduce the "toughest sanctions... imposed (on Russia) in the last three years" in coordination with U.S. senators, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a television interview on July 7.
"(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is no longer advancing on the front and is now limited to shelling residential areas with drones and missiles. This is leading to numerous casualties among the civilian population. This must stop," Barrot said.
In the U.S., senators have been working on a sanctions bill, with Graham saying voting on a bill is expected to begin following the end of the July congressional break.
Graham, earlier on July 7, said he expects "the Senate will move the bipartisan Russian sanctions bill that will allow tariffs and sanctions to be placed on countries who prop up Putin’s war machine and do not help Ukraine."
The bill led by Graham has been in the works for several months as the White House has failed attempts to broker a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.
"Ukraine has said yes to ceasefires and to any and all meeting requests while Putin continues to defy peace efforts. It is now time to put more tools in President Trump’s toolbox in order to end the war," he said.
