German opposition leader Friedrich Merz has sharply criticized US moves to ease sanctions on Russian energy exports, calling such policies "fundamentally wrong" and highlighting a growing transatlantic divide over how to balance energy security with pressure on Moscow.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Thursday, Merz—who leads the center-right Christian Democratic Union and is favored to become Germany's next chancellor—argued that relaxing sanctions on Russia "undermines years of coordinated Western policy and sends precisely the wrong signal to the Kremlin," according to Reuters.
The comments come as the Trump administration has quietly authorized temporary purchases of Russian oil already at sea, citing the need to stabilize energy markets disrupted by the conflict with Iran. US Treasury officials characterized the move as a "limited, temporary measure" designed to prevent price spikes rather than a fundamental policy shift. Yet for European officials who have endured significant economic pain to maintain sanctions pressure on Russia, the distinction offers little comfort.
To understand today's headlines, we must look at yesterday's decisions. When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the Western response centered on comprehensive sanctions designed to cripple Moscow's war-making capacity. Energy sanctions—particularly the EU's phased embargo on Russian oil and the G7's price cap mechanism—were among the most painful measures, costing European economies dearly as they scrambled to find alternative suppliers.
Germany, once Russia's largest customer for natural gas, paid an especially high price, shuttering energy-intensive industries and subsidizing household heating costs as it severed decades-old energy relationships. The implicit bargain was that the entire West would share this burden. Now, with Washington effectively reopening Russian energy access—even temporarily—that solidarity appears frayed.
"The United States lectures Europe about resolve, then caves the moment its own gas prices rise," said a senior German official speaking on background. "This is the kind of hypocrisy that destroys alliances."
The US State Department has sought to manage the fallout, with officials emphasizing that sanctions on Russia's energy sector remain in place and that the authorization applies only to specific cargoes already in transit before new restrictions took effect. But the damage to transatlantic trust may be harder to contain than the policy scope.
Merz's criticism is particularly significant given his traditional pro-Atlantic stance and his party's historical closeness to Washington. If even center-right German politicians are publicly rebuking US policy, it suggests that European patience with perceived American inconsistency is wearing thin across the political spectrum.
The current German government, a coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, has been more circumspect in its criticism but has privately conveyed similar concerns to Washington. Berlin is seeking "clarity" on US sanctions policy going forward and assurances that temporary measures will not become permanent backsliding.
For Russia, the spectacle of Western disunity offers strategic value beyond any immediate economic benefit. Moscow has long sought to drive wedges between Washington and Brussels, and contradictions between US sanctions rhetoric and practice provide ample material for that effort. Whether the West can maintain a coherent policy toward Russia while managing competing energy security crises may well determine the durability of the broader sanctions architecture.
