European Union envoys are set to approve a 20th package of sanctions against Russia, with Slovakia and Hungary expected to drop their opposition following repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.
The measures would strengthen efforts to curb Russian energy revenues and military supplies more than four years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after the bloc failed to secure unanimous backing earlier this year.
Slovakia’s foreign minister said Bratislava was ready to support the package once oil deliveries via Druzhba resumed, arguing the measures would not significantly harm the Slovak economy.
Crude flows through the pipeline are expected to restart on Wednesday for the first time since a January drone strike, removing a key objection from Hungary. Its outgoing Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, had previously blocked further sanctions and a €90 billion loan for Ukraine.
The package stops short of immediately imposing a full ban on maritime services for Russian oil. Envoys agreed to the measure in principle but postponed implementation pending coordination with G7 partners.
If enforced, the ban could effectively end the G7 price cap regime, which allows access to Western shipping and insurance for Russian crude sold below a set threshold.
The sanctions also target Russia’s military-industrial base, including drone production and its so-called “shadow fleet”, and introduce phased restrictions on services for Russian LNG and icebreakers.
They include asset freezes and business bans on major Russian refineries and producers. For the first time, the EU would also use its anti-circumvention tool against a third country, Kyrgyzstan, alongside curbs linked to a foreign oil port and new protections for EU companies against Russian legal claims abroad.
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U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, according to three senior Iranian sources. Washington is escalating pressure in hopes of securing concessions in future negotiations.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 4th of September, covering the latest developments.
A Chinese national was pulled alive from a tunnel in Nepal on Saturday, authorities said, 10 days after a wall of ice, rock and mud tore through a Himalayan valley, killing more than 1,300 people and leaving more than 5,600 missing.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar with the matter said. They were met by Russian Presidential Envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
Spanish authorities are preparing a new site in Ceuta to accommodate hundreds of migrants who remain on the streets following large-scale arrivals in July, local media reported Saturday.
At least two people were killed and dozens injured on Friday after an explosion at a military barracks in the Bolivian municipality of Viacha, about 30 km (20 miles) from La Paz, Defence Minister Ernesto Justiniano said.
The resolution, sponsored by African countries and led by Togo, passed by 164 votes to one, with six abstentions. The United States was the only country to vote against it.
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