France signals optimism for G7 maritime ban on Russian oil as EU chief says they seek to further isolate Moscow

France is “reasonably optimistic” that a deal can be reached, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Saturday, after some G7 countries expressed willingness to move ahead with a maritime services ban of Russian oil.

"We hope to be able to include it in the 20th (EU) sanctions package we are actively preparing," Barrot was quoted as saying by Reuters, while he was addressing reporters after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Munich.

"Some of the G7 countries have expressed willingness to move forward. The jury is still out, but my expectations are reasonably optimistic," he added.

The minister's remarks come as European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen posted on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that she had a “good meeting” with US senator Lindsey Graham, and a bipartisan delegation of senators, meaning officials from both the Republican and Democratic parties were involved.

“Now is the time to raise the costs of Russia’s war higher than ever. To bring Putin to the negotiating table with genuine intent,” she said, adding that sanctions are effective, but work the best when coordinated.

“We propose a full maritime services ban which can further isolate Russia and cut its fossil fuel revenue especially if coordinated closely with our G7 partners and the United States,” she wrote in the post.

A maritime ban refers to restrictions imposed on shipping services, preventing the transport of certain goods, such as oil, from specific countries.

While the G7, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, USA, as well as the EU, have almost fully cut imports of Russian oil since 2022, the new proposal would mark the closest they have ever come to a total ban on dealing with Russian crude and fuel not only at the level of imports but also transportation and maritime services, Reuters said in a report earlier.

In another incident, five European countries concluded that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a deadly toxin derived from dart frog skin, and they accused the Russian government of being responsible for the attack, as said by Von Der Leyen in a separate tweet.