Senior U.S. diplomats told the sanctions against Russia will be renewed "for years to come," with the goal of halving Russia's oil and gas revenues by the end of 2030.
A senior US diplomat said in an interview with foreign media that Washington's goal isHalving Russia's oil and gas revenues by the end of 2030, and believes that Western sanctions against Russia need to be maintained "in the coming years."
Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for energy and resources, said Putin's ability to fund military operations in Ukraine must be limited to ensure that Russia never attacks its neighbors again.
Piat, who served as U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and Greece, said, "As long as Putin continues this war, we must stick to that for years to come." ”
Since the full-scale outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Russia has continued to export large quantities of oil. However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) did predict thatIf the West continues to impose sanctions on Russia's energy sector, its oil and gas exports could fall by at least 40-50% by 2030.
"We're going to do everything we can to help make that happen," Piatt said. The purpose of the sanctions is to restrain Russia's military action and ensure that it does not achieve some kind of peace. Use three or four years to rearm yourself and prepare for the third phase of the military operation in Ukraine. ”
Last year, the United States led the other G7 countries in imposing a cap on Russian exports in an effort to reduce the Kremlin's revenues while securing them. According to the regulations, non-G7 countries can continue to buy Russian **, but if they want to use Western ships or insurance companies to propel**, the ** of cargo must not exceed $60 barrels. The European Union, the United States, and other G7 countries mostly ban imports from Russia**.
While these measures initially led to a significant increase in Russia, the Kremlin has since developed a new network of merchants and tankers to circumvent sanctions, allowing it to operate at a rate higher than the cap
Most of Russia's oil is transported through "shadow fleets", whose ownership is opaque, making it difficult to be constrained by sanctions. Despite this, part of the Russian oil is transported by Western ships insured by the West.
Piatt said the U.S. is looking for"Ways to reduce the efficiency of the shadow fleet".。Asked if Washington would support pressuring Western insurers to ask shippers for more information and do more due diligence on ships carrying Russian oil, Piatt said: "Stay tuned. ”
Despite the strong performance of Russian oil exports over the past year, Washington believes that its cap mechanism has cost the Kremlin dearly, and that it could continue to hurt Russia's revenues by stepping up enforcement and tightening restrictions. "Colleagues in the Treasury Department in charge of this are taking a hard look at how to ensure that this policy continues to be effective," Piatt said. ”
In October, the United States imposed sanctions on two tanker owners carrying Russian oil above the cap, the first enforcement action related to the sanctions. Analysts and traders expect a series of new measures in the United States against individual companies and operators.
In November, the U.S. also announced sanctions against Russia's LNG development project, Arctic LNG 2, its first direct action against Moscow's gas export capacity.
Piat said that "hindering Russia's future revenues" is just as important as hurting its current financial situation.