Since the military operation in Ukraine began in 2022, Russia has been subject to 20 packages of sanctions.

On Thursday, Sweden and Finland called on the European Union (EU) to ban maritime services to Russian energy carriers, seeking to curb the “ghost fleet” that allows Moscow to circumvent oil sanctions.

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Russia Says Two Sailors Freed After U.S. Tanker Seizure

Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said that they proposed three measures: a total maritime ban, a veto on Russian fertilizers (the country’s third-largest export), and a halt to European exports of luxury goods to Russia on “moral grounds.”

Since the military operation in Ukraine began in 2022, Russia has been subject to 20 packages of sanctions. Stenergard stated that while there is frustration with the “unacceptable rhetoric” from the U.S. towards Greenland, they should focus on European matters.

European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos presented a plan for Ukraine’s reconstruction based on reforms as a candidate country for EU membership and attracting investment, recalling the economic growth of countries that incorporated the entity in 2004.

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed the release of two Russian sailors from the Marinera oil tanker, seized by the U.S. Navy on January 7 in international waters of the North Atlantic.

The Russian Transport Ministry denounced that U.S. military personnel boarded the ship on the high seas, violating the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and demanded respect for the rights of its citizens.

The White House justified the seizure by claiming it violated U.S. sanctions and stating that it was part of the Venezuelan “ghost fleet.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed that the sailors were already returning to Russia.

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE – teleSUR

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