In a joint letter, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Sweden call on G7 states to take additional steps to reduce the revenues earned by Russia from the sale of its energy carriers.
On behalf of Latvia, the letter was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Baiba Braže.
The joint letter calls on the G7, a group of leading industrialised nations, to reduce the revenues that Russia is earning from the sale of its energy carriers. With these revenues, Russia is funding its continuing aggression in Ukraine. A third of Russia’s revenues and two thirds of its exports are linked to energy carriers.
The 12 countries that sent the joint letter have continuously pushed for the toughest possible restrictive measures against Russia. In their joint statement, the like-minded countries call on the G7 to leverage the Oil Price Cap to ensure it continues to serve as a meaningful instrument in curbing Russia’s revenue streams, to impose additional sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet vessels and involved actors, and to consider additional measures targeting seaborne transportation of Russian-originating exports.
Russia is using the shadow fleet to fund its war machine. The vessels of the shadow fleet are often old and in poor condition, posing environmental, maritime safety and security risks in Europe and our waters.