VILNIUS - European Union member countries must prepare for possible secondary US tariffs targeting Russia's trading partners, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said on Tuesday.
"The deadline that was given by President Trump to Putin - 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or there will be secondary sanctions - is a signal for Europe to prepare, because we still have some member states that are exposed to imports of oil and oil products from Russia," he told reporters ahead of EU foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.
US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened the Kremlin with sanctions unless it takes action within 50 days to end the war in Ukraine.
According to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, ministers are expected to agree on a new package of sanctions against Russia, including a lower price cap on Moscow's oil exports, on Tuesday or Wednesday.
The fresh round of sanctions has been held up for weeks by disagreements with Slovakia over plans to phase out Russian gas, and resistance from Malta over the price cap.
Bratislava has asked for the adoption of the latest sanctions to be postponed until the EU clarifies the financial implications of the RePowerEU initiative.
According to Budrys, it is important to speed up the RePowerEU plan, which aims to phase out imports of Russian fossil fuels, and to stop importing oil before secondary US sanctions begin to affect Europe.
"After yesterday's announcements, we see that there is still leadership from the United States and we also have to gather ourselves and do the same: adopt the 18th package with the oil price cap lowered, and start preparing the 19th package," he said.
Budrys said he doubted the EU would fail to adopt the new sanctions package and voiced hope that the countries blocking it would abandon their "damaging and destructive practice."
The bloc is close to agreeing on a plan to lower the price cap on Russian oil exported to third countries around the world.
The oil price cap, set at 60 US dollars by the Group of Seven (G-7) in 2022, is designed to limit the price at which Moscow can sell its oil globally by banning shipping and insurance companies dealing with Russia from handling oil sold above that threshold.
Under the new EU scheme - likely to be backed by other G-7 members such as the United Kingdom and Canada - the bloc would set a more flexible cap below market value.
According to internal EU discussions seen by AFP, that would currently stand at 47.6 US dollars.
Please enter your username and password.
2026 © The Baltic Times /Cookies Policy Privacy Policy
