He Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsencalled this Thursday toughen European sanctions against Russia and increase the pressure on the “ghost fleet“, the network of oil tankers used by Moscow to export crude oil and avoid restrictions, denouncing that it is a threat to Ukraine and European security.
During a meeting of experts from the NB8++, which brings together the Nordic and Baltic countries together with other European partners to coordinate positions on security and foreign policy, the minister warned that Europe “cannot allow freedom of navigation in the seas of the world be used abusively by ghost fleet vessels“.
In a speech in Amsterdam, the minister assured that those close to 1,100 tankers that make up this network “significantly strengthen Russia’s ability to continue its war in Ukraine“and recalled that, according to estimates by the Finnish Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), they generate about 73 billion euros annually for the Kremlin.
