{"id":422825,"date":"2025-03-27T14:25:55","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T13:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/2025\/03\/27\/putin-sanzioni-russia-usa-ue\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T18:13:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T16:13:46","slug":"eu-and-us-at-odds-over-sanctions-against-russia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/2025\/03\/27\/eu-and-us-at-odds-over-sanctions-against-russia\/","title":{"rendered":"EU and US at odds over sanctions against Russia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brussels – By calling for the easing\u00a0of\u00a0Western sanctions<\/strong> against Moscow, Vladimir Putin<\/strong> seems intent on creating\u00a0another divide across\u00a0the Atlantic<\/strong>. He is counting on Donald Trump<\/strong>‘s openings and hopes that Washington will start pressuring Brussels<\/strong> to relent, especially regarding\u00a0the readmission of Russian banks into\u00a0SWIFT<\/strong>. From the Old Continent, the will emerges to stay the course without yielding to Kremlin blackmail<\/strong>, but this is\u00a0only the beginning of a particularly delicate geopolitical game.<\/p>\n

Putin’s wishes<\/h3>\n

In the last few hours, there has been persistent talk of sanctions on Russia<\/strong>, especially those imposed by the EU and coded into 16 packages<\/strong> (the latest adopted on the third anniversary of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in\u00a0February). In a textbook move, Vladimir Putin\u00a0<\/strong>shuffled\u00a0the cards\u00a0by bringing up, after the\u00a0conclusion of the Riyadh talks<\/a> with the United States, the issue of loosening some restrictive measures<\/strong> against Moscow.<\/p>\n

\"Vladimir<\/a>
Russian president Vladimir Putin (foto via Imagoeconomica)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a communiqu\u00e9 in\u00a0which the Kremlin gave its account<\/a>\u00a0of negotiations, it mentions several conditions<\/strong> set by the Federation to respect the truce<\/strong> agreed upon in Saudi Arabia. These conditions include, most importantly, the abolition of restrictions against the Rosselkhozbank<\/i><\/strong> (the national agricultural bank) and other banking and insurance institutions<\/strong> active in the trade in agribusiness and fertilizer<\/strong>, as well as those against producers, exporters, and shipowners<\/strong>, and their readmission on the SWIFT<\/strong> system, from which they were\u00a0ousted in 2022.<\/p>\n

Not so fast<\/h3>\n

SWIFT is a computer system that links over\u00a011 thousand institutions in more than 200 countries<\/strong> worldwide, enabling them to exchange something like 50 million “financial messages” daily. The institution’s registered office is\u00a0in La Hulpe<\/strong>, just outside Brussels, and is therefore subject to EU law<\/strong>, including the obligation to comply with sanctions decided by the EU<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

According to the Kremlin’s narrative, the Federation’s July 2023 withdrawal from the grain deal brokered the year before by Turkey and the UN (that Black Sea Initiative<\/strong> that Moscow is now trying to put back on its feet) would be due precisely to the refusal of the Europeans<\/strong> and Joe Biden<\/strong>‘s US administration to reconnect Russian banks to\u00a0SWIFT<\/strong>. However,\u00a0now that the New York tycoon<\/i> is back in the Oval Office, Putin is trying again. And this time, he may be doing better.<\/p>\n

\"Donald<\/a><\/figure>\n

US president Donald Trump (photo: Brendan Smialowski\/Afp)<\/p>\n

Across the Atlantic, there are increasing rumors\u00a0<\/strong>about a possible easing of the international sanctions regime<\/strong> against Russia in exchange for rapid entry into force of the partial ceasefire<\/strong> agreed upon in Saudi Arabia. Trump stated that “we are examining” the conditions<\/strong> posed by Moscow, effectively keeping the door open to Putin’s demands (as was already evident from the briefing the White House released<\/a>\u00a0after the Saudi talks). US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent<\/strong> also believes that “everything is on the table” and that an extended\u00a0discussion<\/strong> has begun on how “to bring Russia back into the international system<\/strong>.”<\/p>\n

European reactions<\/h3>\n

The problem is that these decisions are not (only) up to Washington. In Brussels, on the contrary, there is very little enthusiasm<\/strong> for proceeding down this road. The Commission and the 27 member states\u00a0seem intent on following\u00a0a\u00a0firm stance<\/strong>\u00a0against the Russian aggressor. It\u00a0could be the much-desired moment for European chancelleries, where they can\u00a0make their voices heard in the negotiations<\/strong> on the Ukraine war.<\/p>\n

The EU executive warns\u00a0that “one of the main preconditions<\/strong>” for reviewing or lifting sanctions – a decision that must be unanimous in the Council every six months<\/strong> (and already jeopardized more than once<\/a> by Viktor Orb\u00e1n<\/strong>‘s Hungary) – will be “an end to Russian aggression<\/strong>” and “the withdrawal of all Russian troops<\/strong>” from the former Soviet republic. After all, the restrictive measures aim at “maximizing the pressure” on Moscow<\/strong>: if they were ineffective, the Kremlin would not ask\u00a0to remove them,\u00a0the Berlaymont reasons. European Council president\u00a0Ant\u00f3nio Costa<\/strong>, today in Paris for the meeting<\/a> of the coalition of the willing, <\/strong>agrees.<\/p>\n

\n

The best way to support Ukraine is to stay consistent in our objective to reach a just and lasting peace. This means keeping up the pressure on Russia through sanctions.<\/p>\n

I will convey this message at today\u2019s Leaders\u2019 meeting on peace and security for #Ukraine<\/a> organised by\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/csBYcIbkr1<\/a><\/p>\n

– Ant\u00f3nio Costa (@eucopresident) ###\u00a7##<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Among member states, the mood seems the same. Speaking from the Elys\u00e9e Palace,\u00a0Emmanuel Macron,<\/strong> alongside Volodymyr Zelensky<\/strong>, made it clear last night that “we will not lift sanctions<\/strong>,” arguing that it is still “too early” to make such a concession to the Federation. For the president of the Czech Senate, Milo\u0161 Vystr\u010dil<\/strong>, agreeing to lift\u00a0sanctions before Moscow stops bombing “is like a husband beating his wife and saying he will only stop when his wife stops asking for help<\/strong>.” In fact, under the impetus of some countries,\u00a0particularly the Baltics, the EU is reportedly working on a\u00a0seventeenth sanctions package<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

However,\u00a0the diplomatic game is complex,<\/strong> and the risk of stumbling\u00a0is just around the corner. \u00a0Brussels is aware that Putin’s demands could be instrumental, a trap set by the former KGB agent to the 27 member states<\/strong>. If the Europeans start discussing the renewal of sanctions, the internal divisions within the 27 member states\u00a0will play into the hands of the Kremlin<\/strong>. Conversely, if the EU demonstrates unity in firmness, Moscow would have an excuse to continue the two-way talks, talking exclusively with the White House, as it would have “exposed” the bad faith of the Europeans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Kremlin’s request to ease some restrictive measures against Moscow, made after the Riyadh talks, seems designed to exploit the divide between Washington and Brussels, which have two diametrically opposed positions<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7876,"featured_media":422814,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":{"format":"standard","override":[{"template":"1","parallax":"1","fullscreen":"1","layout":"right-sidebar","sidebar":"default-sidebar","second_sidebar":"default-sidebar","sticky_sidebar":"1","share_position":"top","share_float_style":"share-monocrhome","show_featured":"1","show_post_meta":"1","show_post_author":"1","show_post_author_image":"1","show_post_date":"1","post_date_format":"default","post_date_format_custom":"Y\/m\/d","show_post_category":"1","show_post_reading_time":"0","post_reading_time_wpm":"300","post_calculate_word_method":"str_word_count","show_zoom_button":"0","zoom_button_out_step":"2","zoom_button_in_step":"3","show_post_tag":"1","show_prev_next_post":"1","show_popup_post":"1","number_popup_post":"1","show_author_box":"0","show_post_related":"1","show_inline_post_related":"0"}],"image_override":[{"single_post_thumbnail_size":"crop-500","single_post_gallery_size":"crop-500"}],"trending_post_position":"meta","trending_post_label":"Trending","sponsored_post_label":"Sponsored by","disable_ad":"0","subtitle":""},"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_override_counter":{"view_counter_number":"0","share_counter_number":"0","like_counter_number":"0","dislike_counter_number":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25707],"tags":[25907,27175,26411,25802,28233,26458,30839,30857],"class_list":["post-422825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-politics","tag-initiative-black-en","tag-swift-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7876"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=422825"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":423586,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/422825\/revisions\/423586"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/422814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=422825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=422825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.eunews.it\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=422825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}