EU sanctions Russian liquidified natural gas

RUSSIA / FSU POLITICS - In Brief 22 Jun 2024 by Alex Teddy

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On June 20 the European Union announced the measures. LNG is crucial to the Russian economy. The aim of the sanctions is to make it harder for Russia to finance its war effort. The sanctions cut off Russian access to technology for LNG. They also target the shadow fleet of ships that transports Russian LNG abroad. Russia has been far more successful at evading shipping sanctions than anyone predicted. This is the 14th round of EU sanctions on Russia since 2022. The new sanctions prevent transporting Russian LNG through the EU for sale in other parts of the world. Russia was heavily reliant on using French, Dutch and Spanish ports for shipping its LNG. Russia cannot ship LNG via the Arctic Ocean in winter due to it being icebound. The ban on transshipment will hit countries that buy Russian LNG: especially Turkey and China.  However, the EU has still not totally forbidden the purchase of Russian LNG by EU countries. It is hypocritical of the EU to try to prevent other countries buying Russian LNG. Hungary and Austria are heavily dependent on Russian LNG. Russia has used this since being blocked from SWIFT in 2022. Before the war the EU was the main market for Russian LNG. It was also important for the EU's economy.  The EU wanted to prevent its exports being sold on to Russia. Germany vetoed this measure. It is difficult if not impossible to tell if a third country such as Uzbekistan or the UAE will resell an item to Russia even if it is sold with a ''not for resale'' clause in the contract. Germany was also worried that such a rule would reduce its exports even more at a time when its economy is in recession. The war will not go on forever. The question is: how soon af...