France and Germany push EU sanctions on Russian Lukoil

In their joint document, the countries emphasize that the sale of oil and gas is the main source of funding for Russia's war efforts against Ukraine.

Therefore, they consider it necessary to further focus on entities, companies, and third countries that are at the center of these hydrocarbon sales, including Lukoil – one of the last private groups in this sector in Russia.

This company, one of the leading Russian oil producers, also owns gas stations in the EU, particularly in Belgium.

Paris and Berlin also want to strengthen sanctions against third countries that facilitate the circumvention of existing sanctions, for example, by targeting refineries supplied with Russian oil, which is then resold within the European Union under a different origin.

The EU stopped all imports of Russian oil after the invasion of Ukraine. However, Slovakia and Hungary were exempted due to their significant dependence on Russian oil.

The document also recommends focusing more on the financial mechanisms that Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions. It is noted that about 250 small banks are involved in financial transactions aimed at supporting Russia's war efforts.

EU sanctions against Russia

The European Commission plans to present the 19th package of sanctions against Russia by Friday, September 12. It is not yet known how quickly it will be approved.

Today, September 8, it became known that the EU's special envoy on sanctions, David O'Sullivan, arrived in Washington.

He is expected to meet with American colleagues together with a team of experts to discuss new restrictions against Russia.

According to Western media, with the help of the new sanctions package, the European Union plans to target Russian energy, cryptocurrency exchanges, and payment systems.

At the same time, part of the measures were intended to be coordinated with Washington.