EU probe if Russia illegally supplied Syria with fuel

The European Union is investigating whether Russian tankers transported jet fuel to Syria through its territories, Reuters reported today.

EU Council Regulation 1323/2014, introduced two years ago, bans all supply of jet fuel to Syria from the EU territories, including fuel originated from outside its territory.

Under EU rules, if the European Commission believes sanctions imposed by the bloc are being flouted, it can raise the issue with member states which are responsible for their enforcement.

Responding to the matter, Russia’s defence ministry said that it was not a member of the European Union and therefore no such sanctions applied to its air group in Syria.

At least two Russian-flagged ships made deliveries via Cyprus, an intelligence source with a European Union government told Reuters. A separate shipping source familiar with the movements of the Russian-flagged vessels said the ships visited Cypriot and Greek ports before delivering fuel to Syria.

The Cypriot foreign ministry said its authorities had not approved the docking of any Russian tankers carrying jet fuel bound for Syria.

Greece’s foreign ministry referred questions to the shipping ministry, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said: “While the decision to allow a port call is a national determination, we believe that states in the region should not support any Russian tanker ship carrying fuel to be used in ongoing airstrikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Syria.”