Estonia, Lithuania, Poland call on EU to pace up drafting of ninth Russia sanction package

The ministers of foreign affairs of Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland in a joint statement praised the approval of the price cap on Russian oil and called on the EU to speed up the preparation of the next round of sanctions on Russia.

That’s according to a tweet by Estonia’s Foreign  Minister Urmas Reinsalu, Ukrinform reports.

We need to continue to provide our support to Ukraine by cutting off Russia's ability to finance this war, the top diplomat believes.

“We welcome the President von der Leyen’s statement that the EU is working with full speed on the next package of sanctions against Russia. We reiterate the importance of the swift adoption of the 9th sanction package,” the tweet says.

The ministers welcomed the agreement on the oil price cap whose objective is to limit Russian oil revenues, while mitigating adverse consequences on energy supply to third countries.

“The initial oil price cap at the level of 60 USD is the result of long negotiation within G7 and EU-27. The Oil Price Cap will ensure the effectiveness of sanctions imposed on Russian oil. We have made every effort to ensure that the main goal of the Oil Price Cap, which is to limit Russian oil revenues, is achieved,” the statement reads.

They added that the price cap, introduced on their proposal, “will be reviewed in every 2 months to respond to developments in the market and to guarantee that the price cap will be at least 5% below the average market price for Russian oil.”

“We highlight that we will work further to completely stop Russia’s profit from oil sales,” the tweet stresses, noting that the cap is just one element of our response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

The ministers note thy have to continue to “provide our support to Ukraine by cutting off Russia’s ability to finance the war, including taking into use Russian frozen assets and imposing effective sanctions.”