Turning screws on Russia should not impact legitimate maritime sector, say Cyprus and Malta

NICOSIA, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Discussions on the need to tighten sanctions on ​Russia, including the possibility of a ​blanket ban on providing maritime services, should not be at the expense ⁠of legitimate businesses in the industry, key EU shipping nations Cyprus and Malta said.

The Group of Seven countries and the European Union are ​in talks to replace a price cap on Russian oil ‍exports with a full maritime ​services ban in an attempt to reduce the oil revenue that helps finance Russia's war in Ukraine, Reuters exclusively reported on Dec. 5.

Cyprus and Malta, who along with Greece have the largest fleets in ⁠the EU, said tightening sanctions should not target bona fide maritime businesses.

"Any shift away from the price cap must avoid pushing maritime services to non-EU jurisdictions, where the EU would lose oversight and, with it, the leverage needed to uphold European standards," the Maltese government said in a statement.

"There needs to be a holistic approach," Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said. ​He said that while ⁠additional pressure on Russia was needed, the ⁠focus should also be on sanctions dodging.

"That has many actors involved and undermines our collective effort," he said.

Russia exports over a third of its oil in Western tankers, mostly to India and China, with the use of ‌Western shipping services. The ban would end that trade, ​which is mostly done through the fleets of EU maritime nations including Cyprus, Malta and Greece.

The services ban could be part of the EU's next package of sanctions against Russia, slated ‍for early 2026, three sources told Reuters last week. The 27 nation EU would like to approve the ban together with a broader G7 ‌agreement before proposing the ban in the package, two sources ‌said.

Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze, who is visiting Cyprus, echoed Kombos' comments. She said the discussion needed to be 'calibrated', and that it had also been discussed with the United States. "We have discussed how to increase sanctions efficiency," she ⁠said.

(Reporting by Michele Kambas, Jonathan Saul and Chris Scicluna; Editing by Chris Reese and Nick Zieminski)