Greece has blocked the European Union's 21st sanctions package against Russia for a week after member states failed to bridge divisions over several measures.
Athens is demanding an exemption to a full ban on Russian liquefied natural gas scheduled for 1 January 2027, seeking to preserve the transport of Russian LNG to non-EU clients worldwide. The Greek ambassador to the EU warned the planned sanctions would destroy Dynagas, a shipping firm owned by George Prokopiou that operates 27 LNG tankers, including a third of the Arc7 ice-class fleet. Dynagas, which has chartered 11 vessels to the Yamal LNG facility, cautioned the ban could trigger defaults on long-term contracts extending until 2065.
EU officials postponed the price cap review from 15 July to 23 July, keeping the current ceiling on Russian oil at $44.10 per barrel. Without agreement, the cap would rise automatically. Prokopiou's Dynacom earned at least $915 million trading Russian crude over the past three years.