European Union leaders are likely to agree on the 18th package of sanctions against Russia, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys said on Thursday.
Budrys added that during the European Council meeting on Thursday and Friday, compromises will likely be sought with countries opposing restrictions on Russian energy supplies.
“It’s very likely the sanctions package will be approved, probably in the form in which it’s currently drafted. However, the European Council may still seek some compromises,” he told the radio Žinių Radijas.
The EU is considering new sanctions against Moscow to pressure it to come to the negotiating table for peace in Ukraine.
The package aims to curb Russia’s energy exports by lowering the price cap on oil and further restricting the activities of its banks.
According to Lithuania’s top diplomat, several EU countries are holding the sanctions package “hostage” because they oppose a separate European Commission proposal to ban Russian gas imports completely by 2027.
Because of this, Slovakia and Hungary, which are diplomatically closer to the Kremlin and still import Russian gas via pipeline, said earlier this week that they will block the new sanctions.
Some countries also oppose the proposed price cap on Russian oil, Budrys added.
“The G7 failed to reach an agreement on lowering the price cap, which is now 60 dollars per barrel. We are pushing for 45 euros. Lithuania has consistently taken this stance. We’ll see how leaders manage to agree, as this was discussed in the Foreign Affairs Council,” he said.
Budrys also said that it is still possible to coordinate sanctions with the United States.
According to the minister, the sanctions package emerging in the US Senate is expected to have a much stronger impact than the one under consideration in the EU.
President Gitanas Nausėda represents Lithuania in this week’s European Council meeting.
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