Rubio: US running out of targets for new Russia sanctions

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on November 12 that Washington has nearly exhausted its options for new sanctions against Russia, following the latest G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Canada’s Niagara region.

Speaking to reporters at Hamilton International Airport after the talks, Rubio said the United States has already targeted major Russian oil companies — a step long urged by allies — and that few significant sectors remain untouched, Caliber.Az reports. 

“There’s not a lot left [to] sanction from our part,” Rubio told journalists. " I mean, we hit their major oil companies, which is what everybody’s been asking for. Obviously those have to be implemented, and it’ll take some time till you begin to feel it. But I mean, I don’t know what more there is to do. I mean, we’re running out of things to sanction in that regard."

He also stressed that enforcement of existing measures remains critical, particularly against the so-called “shadow fleet” of tankers used to evade oil sanctions.

“Shadow fleet is an enforcement mechanism,” Rubio said. “We don’t put sanctions and then not enforce them. We’re interested in enforcing them as well. [...] And shadow fleet has come up because I do think there are things that the Europeans can do on shadow fleets since a lot of these are happening in areas much closer to them."

Turning to Ukraine, Rubio said the US continues to coordinate with Kyiv on defensive aid and humanitarian support as the country faces another harsh winter under Russian attack. He noted that Ukraine’s power grid has been steadily degraded, leaving cities like Kyiv without electricity for much of the day.

“In Kyiv, for example, upwards of 50 to 60 percent of the day is spent without electrical power,” Rubio said. “That’s clearly part of Russia’s strategy, is to try to collapse morale within Ukraine and the will to fight.”

Rubio said discussions are ongoing over defensive systems to protect Ukraine’s energy infrastructure but acknowledged that repeated Russian strikes have made it difficult to maintain stability.

"If that equipment is ultimately destroyed a week later after it’s installed, that remains a problem.  And that’s been the history of the last two or three years," he added. 

By Sabina Mammadli