UK finance minister calls for tighter Russian shipping sanctions

By David Milliken

BANGKOK, Oct 15 (Reuters) - British finance minister John Healey called on other nations to tighten sanctions on Russia-linked shipping, as he prepared to meet his foreign counterparts at the International Monetary Fund's annual meetings in Bangkok on Thursday.

"My message to finance ministers here today ... on Ukraine, is to stay the path on tough economic sanctions on Russia, especially a tighter ban on shipping services ... that help (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's sanctions-busting shadow fleet to operate," he said.

Britain has imposed a series of sanctions on shipping and related services that it believes Russia uses to fund and equip its war on Ukraine.

However, a US official on Wednesday said the Trump administration is considering ​easing sanctions on so-called shadow fleet vessels that have transported oil and petroleum products from countries including Russia, Iran and ‌Venezuela, in an effort to reduce record-high global freight rates.

That comes after President Donald Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel fuel, a move met with a torrent of criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, European countries and some of Trump's fellow Republicans in the US Senate.

Healey also said Britain would provide £17 million ($23 million) in funding towards repairs for Ukraine's Chornobyl nuclear power plant that had been damaged by a Russian drone strike last year, alongside support from the US and France.

In other remarks, Healey welcomed the IMF's praise for Britain's plan to reduce borrowing over the coming years and confirmed he would stick to this in his first annual budget statement on October 28.

"They ... say it's important to stay the path. And I will follow that as I prepare my budget in two weeks' time."

($1 = 0.7553 pounds)

(Reporting by David Milliken; Editing by John Mair)