site.btaEU's Top Diplomat Describes US's Decision to Ease Sanctions on Russian Oil Exports as "Dangerous Precedent"

The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, Monday described the US decision to temporarily ease sanctions on Russian oil exports as a "dangerous precedent."

Russia must have fewer, not more, resources to wage war, Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels. She stressed that events in the Middle East should not distract from the ongoing war in Ukraine and noted that closing the Strait of Hormuz also serves Russia’s interests.

The main question is how to keep the strait open, since 85% of the oil and gas supplies to Asia pass through it, Kallas said. She added that she had discussed with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres whether an approach similar to the Ukrainian grain export deal through the Black Sea could be applied to fertilizers. "It is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open," Kallas added.