Greece opposed the new package of EU sanctions against Russia

Greece opposed the new 21st package of EU sanctions against Russia, including a ban on the transportation of Russian LNG to third countries, because of business interests, the Financial Times writes.

"Greece opposed the new round of sanctions The EU is in relation to Russian gas to protect the shipping company Dynagas," the publication reports.

According to Financial Times sources, Greece's representative to the EU told his colleagues on Wednesday that the planned sanctions against Russian LNG would "ruin" Dynagas. According to the Equasis marine portal, Dynagas has 27 gas carriers in operation, a third of which are Arc7 ice—class tankers built to operate in icy Arctic waters near Yamal LNG, the publication explains.

The representative of Greece, according to sources, said that Dynagas will not be able to use these vessels in other places and will be forced to sell them to non-Western companies. At the same time, the cost of such vessels is about $ 300 million.

On Monday, the head of EU diplomacy, Kaya Kallas, said that the EU has not yet been able to agree on the 21st package of anti-Russian sanctions, but the fulfillment of this goal is likely to be achieved soon.

"I regret that we do not have agreements on the 21st package of sanctions. But I can say that we are pretty close to that," she said at a press conference after a meeting of the EU Council at the level of foreign ministers.

Western media reported that the talks were postponed until July 23, as the permanent representatives of the EU countries at a meeting on Wednesday in Brussels could not come to unanimity.

According to Bloomberg, according to an unnamed diplomat, EU member states agreed to keep the ceiling on Russian oil prices at $44.10 until July 23, "as officials are trying to reach a broader agreement on sanctions."

In order for the European Union to agree on the 21st package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, which was supposed to include the extension of the price ceiling freeze, the support of all 27 EU countries is needed.