G7 nears agreement on strengthening sanctions against Russia's oil revenues – media
The G7 countries are nearing an agreement on significantly strengthening sanctions against Russia due to its unwillingness to end the war against Ukraine, Bloomberg wrote on Wednesday, citing a draft document.
"We are aligned on the need to act together and believe that now is the time for a significant coordinated escalation of measures to bolster Ukraine’s resilience and critically impair Russia’s ability to wage war against Ukraine," the draft says.
The current draft says the G7 is working on a range of options that include new measures on key economic sectors such as energy, finance and the military industry, as well as targeting countries and organizations that are boosting Moscow's military efforts and helping it circumvent existing sanctions.
"We agreed that now is the time to maximize pressure on Russia’s oil exports, a major source of their revenue," the statement says.
The draft statement suggests the ministers will also discuss Ukraine’s financial needs, including coordinating ways to make further use of frozen Russian central bank assets.
G7 finance ministers are due to speak on Wednesday and the statement could still change before it’s finalized and all seven nations — including the US — sign onto it, according to people familiar with the matter. Other G-7 members include the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.
Separately, European Union leaders are meeting in Denmark as momentum gathers over a plan to use funds immobilized in the bloc to provide Ukraine with EUR 140 billion ($164 billion) in fresh aid. The EU is also working on a new sanctions package, that would see it ban Russian liquefied natural gas by 2027 and impose more restrictions on Moscow’s energy and financial sectors.
"Both the EU and the G-7 are hoping to conclude their respective sanctions packages this month, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations," Bloomberg reports.