G7 Ministers Link Future Russia Sanctions to Good Faith Talks

A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
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G7 Ministers Link Future Russia Sanctions to Good Faith Talks

A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor
A view shows the state flag of Russia before a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with French President Emmanuel Macron in St. Petersburg, Russia May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Grigory Dukor

G7 foreign ministers agreed on Saturday to continuing working together to get a strong peace deal for Ukraine with robust security guarantees and linked future sanctions on Russia to good faith negotiations by Moscow.

"Any new, additional sanctions after February should be linked to whether the Russian Federation enters into real, good-faith efforts to bring an enduring end to the war against Ukraine that provides Ukraine with long-term security and stability as a sovereign, independent country," the statement, which includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said after a meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Reuters reported.

The G7, which also includes France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, Britain and the EU, underscored their commitment to work together to help achieve a durable peace, and "the need to develop robust security guarantees to ensure the war will not begin again". 



US Slaps Iran-related Sanctions on Oil Tankers, China ‘Teapot' Refinery

The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
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US Slaps Iran-related Sanctions on Oil Tankers, China ‘Teapot' Refinery

The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo
The Liberian-flagged tanker Ice Energy, chartered by the US government, takes Iranian oil from Iranian-flagged Lana (formerly Pegas) as part of a civil forfeiture action off the shore of Karystos, on the Island of Evia, Greece, May 26, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas/File Photo

The US on Thursday issued new Iran-related sanctions, targeting entities including for the first time a Chinese "teapot", or independent refinery, and vessels that supplied crude oil to such processing plants.
It was Washington's fourth round of sanctions on Iran's oil sales since President Donald Trump said in February he was re-imposing a "maximum pressure" campaign including efforts to drive down the country's exports to zero. Trump aims to stop Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and funding militant groups.

The refinery Treasury targeted for sanctions is China-based Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co., Ltd.
"So-called 'teapot' refinery purchases of Iranian oil provide the primary economic lifeline for the Iranian regime, the world’s leading state sponsor of terror and the primary backer of the murderous Houthis in Yemen," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a post on X.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the refinery bought oil from vessels linked to Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, which the US designated this month as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and the US-designated Iranian Ministry of Defense of Armed Forces Logistics.

Treasury also imposed sanctions on 12 entities, and identified eight vessels as blocked property it said were responsible for shipping millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China. These vessels are part of Iran’s “shadow fleet” of tankers that supply the private refineries.
It also placed Wang Xueqing, who it said is linked to the refinery, on the specially designated nationals, or SDN, list. Americans are prohibited from doing business with people placed on that list, and their US assets are blocked.
The vessels Treasury blocked included Panama-flagged Aurora Riley and the Catalina, and the Barbados-flagged Brava Lake.
The State Department said it was imposing sanctions on an oil terminal in China called Huaying Huizhou Daya Bay Petrochemical Terminal Storage, for buying and storing Iranian crude oil from a sanctioned vessel.