Yuri Kobzar21:59, 25.06.25

The German Chancellor expressed hope that the US will also finally pass its long-delayed sanctions law.

Tomorrow, the European Union will launch its 18th package of sanctions against Russia . German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced this during a press conference following the NATO summit in The Hague.

“We must increase the level of economic pressure on Moscow. The European Union is working on this, and tomorrow, finally, the 18th package of sanctions will be launched. But this package alone will not be enough, we need more active US participation in the sanctions,” he said.

The head of the German government expressed hope that the US Senate will pass a law on new sanctions against Russia in the coming days. According to Merz, he has already discussed this issue with US President Donald Trump and asked him to personally approve the new restrictions against Russia.

New sanctions against Russia

As UNIAN reported, the EU previously announced its 18th package of sanctions against Russia, which could potentially be the toughest ever if all previously announced proposals are included. In particular, it was reported that, among other things, this package will include a reduction in the price ceiling for Russian oil from $60 to $45 per barrel, disconnecting 22 more Russian banks from SWIFT, a final ban on Nord Stream, expanding the sanctions list of “shadow fleet” tankers, and a ban on EU countries purchasing oil products from Russian raw materials.

At the same time , a bill on “hell sanctions” against Russia has been stalled in the US Senate since March , which provides, in particular, for the introduction of a 500 percent tariff on imports to the US of goods from countries that purchase Russian oil, gas, coal, or nuclear fuel.

The other day it became known that the authors of the bill decided to make some adjustments to it so that it would not hit Europe, which also still buys Russian energy resources.

Yesterday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Donald Trump administration does not want to impose new sanctions against Russia yet , as it still hopes for a diplomatic option to end the war.

(C)UNIAN 2025