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Straits Times
16 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic makes first-ever visit to Ukraine
FILE PHOTO: Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic arrives for the European Political Community Summit at Skanderbeg Square in Tirana, Albania, May 16, 2025. REUTERS/Valdrin Xhemaj/File Photo KYIV - Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic travelled to the Ukrainian city of Odesa for a regional summit on Wednesday, the first time the Moscow-friendly leader has visited the country during his 12 years in power. In a statement, Vucic's office said he would travel to Ukraine for one day to take part in the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe Summit in the Black Sea port of Odesa, which this week faced a major Russian drone and missile attack. Senior politicians from 12 Southeastern European nations were expected to take part in the summit. Serbia wants to join the European Union, but Russia, a traditional Slavic and Orthodox Christian ally, remains its biggest gas supplier, and the country's sole oil refinery is majority-owned by Gazprom and Gazprom Neft. Although Belgrade has refused to join Western sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, it has condemned Moscow's policies in the United Nations and expressed support for Ukraine's territorial integrity. Vucic has also previously met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy at least three times. Belgrade recognises Ukraine in its entirety, including territories seized by Russia since 2014, while Kyiv refused to recognise the 2008 independence of Kosovo, Serbia's predominantly Albanian former southern province. In late May, the SVR, the Russian foreign intelligence service, accused Belgrade of "a stab in the back", alleging Serbia's defence manufacturers were selling ammunition and weapons to Ukraine via intermediaries. The only Serbian president to visit Ukraine since the Balkan country became independent in 2006 was Boris Tadic in 2011. Ukraine's previous president, Petro Poroshenko, visited Serbia in 2018. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
30-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russian ESPO Blend oil freight rates hit lowest since January, traders say
MOSCOW/SINGAPORE, April 30 (Reuters) - Freight rates for ESPO Blend crude shipped from the Russian port of Kozmino to China eased further in April to the lowest since mid-January on higher availability of tankers, three traders said. Lower rates mean Russian exporters will spend less on freight and earn more for their oil. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. Freight rates on the route have eased to levels of around $2 million-3 million for April-loading cargoes from $4 million-5 million for February and March volumes as more non-sanctioned tankers have joined the ESPO market, they added. Russia's ESPO Blend oil price fell below the $60 per barrel Western price cap level for the first time ever early in April as the international Brent benchmark plummeted to the lowest levels in years, Reuters calculations based on three trading sources showed. The price has been changing since then, but remains around the $60 per barrel cap, the traders said. "ESPO Blend hovers around $60 (per barrel). Higher oil prices and lower freight rates may bring its price back above the cap again", complicating the process of finding a vessel, one of the traders said. The cost of transporting ESPO Blend to China jumped to $6 million-$7.5 million after U.S. sanctions were placed on vessels involved in Russian oil shipments on January 10, as many vessels working at Kozmino port were targeted. U.S. sanctions on Russia's oil industry targeted major oil companies Surgutneftegaz and Gazprom Neft, as well as more than 180 vessels. Before the latest round of U.S. sanctions, shipping oil from Kozmino to ports in northern China used to cost less than $1.5 million. Traders said those levels might be achieved again this year if no additional restrictions on Russian oil transportation emerge.
