US vetoes monitoring group for Russia's shadow fleet - Bloomberg
Illustrative photo: US rejects creation of special group to counter Russia's shadow fleet (Getty Images)
The US rejected Canada’s proposal to create a special group to monitor sanctions violations, specifically targeting Russia’s shadow fleet of oil tankers. This idea is being prepared for approval at the upcoming G7 summit, according to Bloomberg.
Trump administration “re-evaluates its positions across multilateral organizations.”
Canada, chairing the G7 this year, will host the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in Charlevoix, Quebec, next week.
The sources revealed that during discussions on a joint statement on maritime issues, "the US is pushing to strengthen language around China while watering down wording on Russia."
The US vetoed Canada’s proposal and attempted to remove the term “sanctions” and change language referring to Russia’s “ability to maintain its war”, replacing it with “ability to earn revenue.”
The G7 communiqué is not final until published after consensus, and negotiations may lead to significant changes before or during the summit.
"Relations between the US and other Western powers have frayed significantly," source reports. Last month, allies were unable to publish a joint statement to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after the US opposed strong condemnation of Russia.
The US also rejected references to maritime resilience and pushed for the creation of a maritime observatory to track border changes, which is key in global maritime conflicts, including in the South China Sea.
"US diplomats have briefed their counterparts that the move was due to Washington’s re-evaluation of its position in multilateral organizations, rendering it unable to join any new initiatives," as stated.
Russia’s shadow fleet
Shadow fleet term refers to aging oil tankers used by Russia to bypass Western sanctions imposed due to the war in Ukraine.
Recently, YLE reported that Russia moved some operations of its shadow fleet abroad, with Dubai becoming a major hub.
As part of the EU’s 16th sanctions package against Russia, restrictions were imposed on 74 vessels from third countries.
In early February, Ukraine’s presidential envoy for sanctions policy, Vladyslav Vasyuk, stated that there are at least 300 more Russian tankers that could be sanctioned, with the necessary evidence available.
