Relaxing anti-Russian sanctions now for any reason is a mistake, Merz said

Berlin/Oslo, March 13 (CTK correspondent) - Relaxing anti-Russian sanctions now for any reason is a mistake. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said this today in response to the United States' decision to allow countries to buy Russian oil for 30 days. According to the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, all of Kyiv's allies should continue to put pressure on Russia. Germany's Economy Minister Katherina Reiche also criticized the US move, saying it would only fill Russian President Vladimir Putin's war chest.

"We consider relaxing sanctions now—whatever the reason—to be a mistake," Merz said at a press conference after meeting Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre at a base north of the Arctic Circle.

He added that he had learned of Washington's decision this morning.

European Council President António Costa also called the US decision very concerning. He said it would affect European security. "Increasing economic pressure on Russia is essential to get it to agree to serious negotiations on a just and lasting peace," Costa wrote on the social media platform X. Weakening sanctions increases Russia's revenues, which Moscow uses to wage its war against Ukraine, he added.

"The decision is, of course, up to the United States, but our position is clear. All of Ukraine's partners should maintain pressure on Russia and its war chest," the British prime minister's spokesperson said today, according to media reports.

He added that this is also the best way to continue preventing Russia from supporting hostile actors around the world.

On Thursday evening, the United States allowed countries to buy Russian oil that had already been loaded onto tankers at sea for 30 days, in an effort to stabilize global energy markets. Finance Minister Scott Bessent announced the move on X. According to Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who discussed the matter with US officials in Florida on Wednesday, the exemption will apply to about 100 million barrels of Russian oil.

Germany's Economy Minister Reiche also criticized the US administration's decision at a press conference in Berlin today. "I fear that this will continue to fill Putin's war chest," she said.

Oil prices continued to rise sharply on Thursday, closing at their highest level in nearly four years, near $100 a barrel. After news of the exemption for purchases of Russian oil, commodity prices dipped slightly for a short time during morning trading in Asia. Markets have been tense in recent days because of the war in the Middle East, triggered by a US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The United States relaxed anti-Russian sanctions as member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) prepare to release a record 400 million barrels of oil. The German government has already announced that it will release 2.64 million tonnes of oil, equivalent to 19.51 million barrels. Germany's total oil reserves currently stand at 19.5 million tonnes, or about 144 million barrels, according to a spokesperson for the Economy Ministry. Germany is therefore preparing to release about 14 percent of its reserves. A number of other IEA members, including the United States, have also announced that they will release reserves.