MOSCOW, January 14. /TASS/. The European Union is considering tightening anti-Russian oil sanctions, and US President Donald Trump has imposed a 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran. Meanwhile, Russia stands ready to discuss cooperation on Venezuelan oil with the United States. These stories topped Wednesday’s newspaper headlines across Russia.

 

Izvestia: EU mulls tightening oil sanctions on Russia

Brussels is preparing a 20th sanctions package that would include a ban on services associated with trading in Russian oil, Czech MEP Tomas Zdechovsky told Izvestia. According to him, the deadline for additional restrictions depends on whether EU member countries can reach a consensus on the issue. Earlier, media reports said Brussels is planning to impose them by February 24.

European officials will perhaps continue to do what was stipulated in the latest sanctions packages - imposing restrictions on individual companies transporting Russian oil or increasing the number of sanctioned oil tankers, InfoTEK editor-in-chief Alexander Frolov told Izvestia.

At the same time, companies that fall under the restrictions will face no difficulties. According to Frolov, it is sufficient for them to change their name to bypass the sanctions. As for tankers, the expert believes they will continue to transport oil as they did before. The imposed sanctions do not affect this, as energy supplies continue to flow from Russia to other countries. "Depending on how broad the new restrictions are, there may be a pause of two to three months during which exports become more complicated, but this will not have a significant effect on total volumes," the expert explained.

Meanwhile, Finland and Sweden have called for prohibiting exports of luxury items to Russia, Euractiv reported, citing sources. While EU countries have already been banned from selling luxury goods worth more than Ђ300 to Russia, brands such as Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Saint Laurent have continued to enter the country, albeit with a higher margin. Thus, numerous goods have been re-exported to Russia from China, Turkey or other markets.

Brussels is also discussing a measure to reduce EU import quotas on Russian fertilizers. If this information is accurate, this could be the only economically feasible restriction, Yegor Sergeyev, a researcher with the Institute for International Studies at Moscow State Institute of International Relations, said in an interview with Izvestia. The EU has traditionally viewed Russian chemists as major rivals, the expert explained. Otherwise, he argued, the next sanctions package is yet another symbolic attempt by the bloc to protest against Russia’s policy course.

 

Vedomosti: Trump announces 25% tariff on Iran’s trade partners

The United States will impose a 25% tariff on goods and companies from countries "doing business" with Iran, US President Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform late Monday. However, neither the White House nor the Treasury Department or the US Department of Commerce had clarified what "doing business" would entail by the time the newspaper went to print. Trump is acting as he typically does, gradually toughening his rhetoric before moving on to concrete decisions, Pavel Koshkin, a senior researcher at the US and Canadian Studies Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, explained.

China was one of the first among Iran’s trade partners to react to Trump’s announcement. Soon after it was released, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press conference that Beijing will "firmly protect" its interests. If Trump’s threat is real, the tariff on Chinese imports to the United States could rise to at least 45%. US, European and some Middle Eastern media outlets emphasize that China remains the largest buyer of sanctioned Iranian oil.

China might also refuse to cooperate with Iran as the scope of bilateral cooperation is quite insignificant for the Chinese economy, said Sergey Lukonin, head of the Chinese economy and politics sector at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of World Economy and International Relations. According to him, despite China’s interest in the Islamic Republic’s energy sector, the East Asian nation may try to minimize risks associated with the threat of additional US tariffs.

Other US partners and allies, including Iraq, the UAE, Turkey and the European Union, which are among Iran’s top five trade partners, can be affected, as can India. In August, Trump announced an extra 25% tariff on New Delhi, taking the overall tariff rate on the South Asian nation to 50%.

The economic effect of the repeated duty increase is highly likely to be minimal, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Ivan Timofeyev told Vedomosti. The United States has focused on changing the behavior of third countries using the threat of tariffs, secondary sanctions and other instruments of leverage, the expert explained. "But Iran has already been largely cut off from Western markets. And the country has trade and economic ties with countries that have already been sanctioned or have ignored the risk of sanctions, or both," Timofeyev underscored. Besides, the recent imposition of secondary tariffs on India has proved ineffective in both political and economic terms, he added.

 

Izvestia: Russia ready to discuss cooperation on Venezuelan oil with US

Russia and the United States are making arrangements for a meeting between the two countries’ legislators, working toward a specific date and location. The State Duma explained to Izvestia that Russian and US lawmakers should discuss Venezuela and potential cooperation in the oil sphere, among other topics. While this may involve joint oil production projects, given the complexity of processing Venezuelan raw materials, experts differ on the probability of such cooperation. Earlier this month, US House Representative Anna Paulina Luna sent an official invitation to several State Duma members.

According to Venezuelan Ambassador to Russia Jesus Rafael Salazar, five Venezuelan-Russian joint ventures are active in his country. The two countries have been actively cooperating in the production of oil products. According to Bloomberg, Russia overtook the United States as Venezuela’s primary source of naphtha in 2025, with Russian supplies exceeding 7 million barrels in March-October of last year.

According to Igor Yushkov, an expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Russia does not need to be present in Venezuela or produce oil there as it has its own resources. Russia joined projects in Venezuela to give an economic impetus to diplomatic relations, he noted. Besides, Venezuela is not a very big market for Russian businesses, nor does it play a major role in supplies. While the Americans are likely to take over the petroleum products market, this loss will not be too great for Russia, the expert concluded.

Finam analyst Nikolay Dudchenko disagrees, as he argues that Russia and the United States could also cooperate in Venezuela. Despite statements from Trump saying that he will not tolerate Russian or Chinese presence in the Latin American country, the US president’s opinions often change, the expert noted. "Despite the latest events in Venezuela and the seizure of a Russian tanker, the sides are seeking to maintain dialogue. The current situation very much depends on whether they can reach a final agreement on the Ukraine conflict," Dudchenko emphasized.

 

Nezavisimaya Gazeta: Ukraine ready for at least another year of hostilities

Over the past day, Ukrainian troops attacked civilian facilities in Taganrog, Oryol and Mariupol, as well as the bordering Russian regions of Bryansk and Belgorod, causing civilian casualties and leaving hundreds of thousands of Russian households without electricity. In response, Russia’s Armed Forces delivered large-scale strikes on Ukraine’s military targets and infrastructure supporting its defense industry in the small hours of January 13. According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Russian forces used 25 Iskander missiles of varying types and around 300 Geran unmanned aerial vehicles.

Vasily Nebenzya, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said at a UN Security Council meeting held on Monday night to discuss Ukraine that similar strikes will be continued until Ukraine agrees to realistic conditions for talks.

However, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has not yet accepted Russian proposals and has extended martial law in his country until May 2026. People in his inner circle say Ukraine is ready for at least another year of hostilities. Former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, who, some experts say, may be touted for the top post at the Foreign Intelligence Service by Zelensky, said there was "a zero chance" of putting an end to the hostilities this year. He said that while "Russia is confident that it can attain its goals militarily, Ukraine is confident that it can hold out." According to Kuleba’s estimates, further peace talks can be held in late February and in the summer, before a new round at the end of next winter.

Kiev is currently expecting reserve air defense missiles from Europe. In addition, Zelensky wants Ukraine’s allies to step up commitments to PURL, a NATO-led program to buy US-made weapons for Kiev. "Air defense missiles are needed every day, especially in winter. The world can respond to Russia by offering more aid packages to Ukraine. We expect expedited delivery of what has already been agreed with America and Europe," Zelensky stated.

Judging from official reports from the militaries of Ukraine and Russia, with Russia holding the initiative almost along the entire line of engagement, the Russian Armed Forces have achieved tactical successes on the battlefield, experts say. "We have not witnessed any deep or rapid breakthroughs into the operational depth of the enemy’s defenses almost anywhere," retired Lieutenant General Yury Netkachev, a military expert, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

 

Rossiyskaya Gazeta: Oil spikes amid US-Iran standoff

Oil prices rose sharply after the United States imposed a 25% tariff on countries doing business with Iran, with Brent going up by $2, or about 3%, to $65 per barrel in less than 24 hours after the announcement. The oil rise was largely driven by increased risks of new US tariffs on those suspected of buying Iranian oil. Despite the ban, over the past few years, Iranian oil exports have increased from 0.4 million bpd in 2021 to between 1.5 and 1.9 million bpd (according to various estimates) in 2025.

Coupled with problems with Venezuelan oil supplies, a potential reduction or even cessation of Iranian oil exports could have a major impact on the global oil market’s balance of supply and demand.

However, experts interviewed by Rossiyskaya Gazeta doubt that the effect of the additional US tariff on Iran will be long-term. According to Valery Andrianov, Associate Professor at the Financial University under the Russian Government, Iranian oil exports have long been under international sanctions and therefore gray schemes have been used. The latest US restrictions will not be a gamechanger, he argued. Sergey Pigarev, an analyst at Freedom Finance Global, agrees. The country has been under sanctions for years and has developed mechanisms to circumvent them, including reloading oil from shadow-fleet tankers to other vessels in international waters. China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil, and as it does not buy it directly, there have been no official oil imports from the Islamic Republic. China purchases the bulk of Iranian oil - some 1.4 million bpd, according to 2024 data - via Malaysia. Andrianov argues that the new US tariffs, alongside the attack on tankers carrying Venezuelan oil to China, will send yet another signal to Beijing.

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