Europe doesn't like US lifting sanctions on Russian oil: German envoy

Germany's Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann said Europe opposes lifting the price cap on Russian oil, warning that doing so would give Moscow the financial means to prolong its war in Ukraine.

Germany’s Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann said Europe opposes lifting the price cap on Russian oil, warning that doing so would give Moscow the financial means to prolong its war in Ukraine.

“My position is that lifting the price ceiling on Russian oil is not a good idea because we do not want Russia to have the money to launch another war in Ukraine,” Ackermann said at the India Today Conclave 2026. “We do not buy Russian oil and not a single drop comes to us,” he added.

He noted that global oil markets have already been disrupted by the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. “The Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed. Prices are rising in Europe, our economies are slowing down and people are unhappy. These are the consequences of war in which we are not even involved,” he said.

Ackermann emphasised that European countries are not part of the conflict but remain engaged diplomatically. “It is not our war. No European country is part of this war. But that does not mean we don’t speak to the Americans and ask what the plan is,” he said.

Ackermann also suggested that the European Union’s influence in the Middle East may be growing. “Under the current circumstances, I see EU influence in the Middle East increasing, while the influence of the United States and Israel is not as strong as it used to be, frankly. There is no big way we can influence the war right now in a manner that could lead to peace,” he said.

Ackermann also expressed concern that the global focus has shifted away from the war in Ukraine. “The Russian war of aggression has cost hundreds of thousands of lives, and now attention is shifting away from it. That is worrying. We should not stop working to end that war as well,” he said.