Europe alarmed by US plans to ease Russian oil sanctions
Newshour
BBC
4.2 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 13 March 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
European leaders have reacted with alarm to a US plan to ease some oil sanctions on Russia. The intention, in Washington, is to tackle surging energy costs caused by the war in the Middle East, in particular the blockage by Iran of tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of the world's oil usually transits. With her country at war with Russia, a Ukrainian MP gives us her reaction to this development.
Also on the programme: a look at the current state of Iran’s military capabilities as war continues to rage; how spider’s silk could be used to treat nerve damage in humans; and the bid to restore the resting place of saxophone inventor Adolphe Sax.
(Photo: General view of the Arcelor Mittal plant in Fos-sur-Mer, Southern France, 12th March 2026. Credit: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA/Shutterstock)
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:08.8 | Hello, welcome to News Hour from the BBC World Service, coming to you live from London. |
| 0:13.9 | I'm Paul Henley. |
| 0:15.7 | European leaders have reacted with alarm to a US plan to ease some oil sanctions on Russia. |
| 0:22.5 | The intention in Washington is to tackle surging energy costs caused by the war in the Middle |
| 0:27.0 | East, and in particular by the blockage by Iran of tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, |
| 0:32.5 | through which about 20% of the world's oil usually travels. |
| 0:36.6 | President Trump told Fox News radio's Brian Kilmead show |
| 0:40.4 | that prices would soon fall again. When it's over, and I don't think it's going to be long, |
| 0:45.7 | when it's over, this is going to bounce right back so fast. When are you going to know when it's |
| 0:49.9 | over? When I feel it. Okay. I feel it on my bones. But Europe's fear shared by the Canadian leader is that the |
| 0:57.2 | change will help fund Moscow's war against Ukraine. The US announced a temporary waiver that will allow |
| 1:03.4 | countries to buy oil and petroleum already loaded on Russian vessels at sea. It says it's a short-term |
| 1:09.9 | measure that wouldn't provide significant financial benefit |
| 1:13.0 | to Russia. But speaking in Paris, after a meeting with President Emmanuel Macron, the Ukrainian |
| 1:18.9 | President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Russia would benefit. |
| 1:25.2 | To achieve true security and lasting peace, we must overcome the blockage of the 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia. |
| 1:33.2 | And all the more so, against the backdrop of America's decision to partially lift sanctions against Russian oil on tankers currently at sea. |
| 1:42.2 | This single act alone by the US |
| 1:44.2 | could provide Russia with approximately $10 billion for the war. |
| 1:49.0 | This certainly does not help peace. |
| 1:51.5 | Well, I asked our correspondent in Moscow, |
... |
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