Sanctions against Russia

This House notes that it has been two years since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and welcomes the existing sanctions against Russia, including those in relation to the sale of oil; further notes that, under the existing sanctions regime, the legal country-of-origin for a refined oil product, namely diesel, jet fuel or petrol, is considered to be the country in which it was refined from crude oil to a refined product; is concerned that this loophole means it remains legal to import fuels made using Russian crude, provided they have been refined elsewhere; is further concerned that in the 12 months since 5 December 2022 when the crude oil embargo was enforced, the loophole was worth £141 million to the Kremlin in direct tax revenues and that, in the summer of 2023, one in every 20 UK flights ran on jet fuel derived from Russian oil; welcomes moves in the US to close a similar refining loophole; supports the Government’s policy of imposing measures to weaken Russia’s economic and financial ability to wage war against the people of Ukraine; and therefore calls on the Government to take immediate steps to extend the current import ban to include refined petroleum products from any refinery that has processed Russian crude oil.