Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that a US decision to ease sanctions on Russian oil sales could give Moscow revenues of $10 billion to help fund its war in Ukraine.
"This one concession alone by the United States could give Russia about $10 billion for the war. This certainly does not help peace," Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Paris with French leader Emmanuel Macron on Friday.
The visit comes as Kiev's allies worry that a temporary lifting of Russian oil sanctions by the United States could benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin, already bolstered by rising energy prices due to the war in the Middle East.
The talks focused on increasing pressure on Russia by targeting its "shadow fleet" of tankers used to transport oil in breach of sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine, the French presidency has said.
But the United States on Thursday said it was allowing the sale of Russian oil that is at sea, in a bid to cool international oil prices after US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 sparked a regional war.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the short-term measure was aimed at "increasing the global reach of existing supply".
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that "easing sanctions now, for whatever reason, is wrong. We believe that is the wrong course of action".
"After all, we want to ensure that Russia does not exploit the war in Iran to weaken Ukraine," he said.
During a call with US President Donald Trump earlier this week, "six members of the G7 were very clear in their opinion that this would not send the right signal," he added.
Macron had said after a G7 video call that easing sanctions on Moscow was "in no way" justified.
US-brokered talks between Kiev and Moscow to end the Ukraine war have also been derailed by the Middle East conflict.
The Kremlin said earlier this week that the planned meeting in Paris would obstruct the peace process and that the "very idea of trying to put pressure on Russia is absurd".
Zelenskyy on Thursday travelled to Romania, where he agreed to launch joint drone production with Bucharest, and offered to develop anti-drone defence systems with Kiev's European allies.
Blocked EU loan
Russia's war in Ukraine in February 2022 has sparked the bloodiest war in Europe since World War II, forcing the displacement of millions and leaving hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians dead on both sides.
A Russian strike in eastern Ukraine on Friday killed three people on a bus near the embattled town of Kupiansk, which Moscow's army is battling to recapture.
There was no immediate comment from the Kremlin, which claims its forces do not target civilians.
Zelenskyy's visit also comes as European Union member Hungary blocked a vital 90-billion-euro ($106-billion) EU loan to Ukraine and imposed fresh sanctions on Russia.
Hungary and Slovakia have accused Kiev of deliberately delaying reopening the Druzhba pipeline, which pumps Russian oil to the two landlocked states, and Ukraine says was damaged by Russian strikes in January.
Brussels said on Thursday it had proposed a mission to inspect the blocked oil pipeline and was awaiting Kiev's response.
Zelenskyy said last week that it could take four to six weeks to restore the pipeline's operation.
Macron earlier on Friday announced the first death of a French soldier during the Middle East war in Iraq, in what his commanding officer said was an Iranian drone attack.
Zelenskyy called it a "despicable attack" on military personnel in a post on X and urged Iran to put an end to attacks against its neighbouring countries.
