Paris. The Iranian blockade of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and the consequent increase in crude oil prices “does not justify” lifting the sanctions imposed on Russia for its war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron said this Wednesday.
Macron, who holds the presidency pro tempore of the G7, spoke by videoconference with his counterparts from this group and assured, at the end of the meeting, that there was “a consensus” that they should not change their position on Russia.
“We affirm in this G7 meeting that this situation in no case justifies lifting the existing sanctions against Russia,” said the French president.
Last Monday, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, also a member of the G7, assured that he would lift some oil sanctions “to lower prices”, after talking with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, but without specifying which countries he was referring to.
The war in the Middle East, which began on February 28, is disrupting oil trade through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global hydrocarbon trade usually passes.
