(Washington) The United States will continue to authorize transactions linked to the purchase of Russian energy until December, and not only until the end of June, in order to give the Europeans time to reduce their imports, on which they have decided on a progressive embargo.
Posted at 6:03 p.m.
The U.S. Treasury Department “has renewed its authorization for energy-related transactions to align our regulations with the timeline for implementing the European Union’s crude oil ban,” the agency said. AFP a spokeswoman for this ministry.
This exemption from sanctions against Russia was originally scheduled to expire on June 24, but has been extended until December 5, 2022.
This extension “will allow for an orderly transition to help our broad coalition of partners reduce their reliance on Russian energy as we work to curb the Kremlin’s sources of revenue,” the spokeswoman added.
Imports of Russian oil into the United States, however, remain prohibited.
The European Union decided at the end of May, within the framework of new sanctions against Moscow, of a progressive embargo – with exceptions – on its oil imports, which will affect two thirds of European purchases.
The cessation of imports by ship of crude oil will take place within six months and that of petroleum products within eight months. The supply by the Druzhba pipeline can on the other hand continue “temporarily” but without a deadline. In particular, it supplies three countries without access to the sea, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Tankers transporting Russian oil to third countries can no longer be financed or insured within six months by European operators, in order to hinder a reorientation of exports from Moscow.
The resale of petroleum products from Russian crude is also prohibited within eight months within the EU and to third countries.
Russian gas, on which the EU is very dependent, is not currently concerned.