European Union countries reached a compromise on a new package of Russia sanctions that includes support for a price cap on oil sales to third countries, with a formal agreement expected on Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. EU ambassadors on Tuesday night discussed ways to mitigate the impact the new package would have on countries with large shipping industries. Greece, Cyprus and Malta expressed concerns about curbs on transporting Russian oil and have been pushing for assurances on the effectiveness of the new mechanism and its potential impact. Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, told European lawmakers in Strasbourg on Wednesday that he expects an agreement to be reached later in the day on “sectoral and targeted personal sanctions.” This should further constrain Russia’s export capacity and the relations its industry continues to carry out particularly in the technological sector,” Borrell said. The sanctions would add a ban on shipping Russian oil to existing restrictions on services needed to transport it, but carve out an exemption for oil priced at or under a level set by a coalition of the Group of Seven and other countries, according to a draft of the proposal seen by Bloomberg. The compromise reached on Tuesday would make entry into force of the sanctions conditional on adoption of the measures by the G-7.
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