Russia is the only “winner” of the war between the United States and Israel against Iran: president of the EU Council | War between the United States and Israel against Iran News

Antonio Costa says Russia is benefiting from skyrocketing global energy prices and attention diverted from the war in Ukraine.

European Council President Antonio Costa has said Russia is the only country benefiting from the US-Israel war against Iran, as global energy prices soar and attention shifts from Moscow’s four-year conflict with Ukraine.

Now in its 11th day, the war has escalated rapidly across the region as Iranian forces responded to American and Israeli targets as well as facilities in the Gulf. It has also slowed oil and natural gas flows through the strategic Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill, raising fuel prices and threatening far-reaching impacts on several industries.

“So far, there is only one winner in this war: Russia,” Costa said in a speech to European Union ambassadors in Brussels on Tuesday.

It “gains” new resources to finance its war against Ukraine as energy prices rise. It benefits from the diversion of military capabilities that could otherwise have been sent to support Ukraine. And it benefits from less attention to the Ukrainian front as the conflict in the Middle East takes center stage.”

Costa stressed the need for the EU to protect the rules-based international order, which he said was now being challenged by the United States, and for all parties in the Middle East to return to the negotiating table.

“Freedom and human rights cannot be achieved by bombs. Only international law defends them,” he said. “We must avoid further escalation. Such a path threatens the Middle East, Europe and beyond.”

The US-Israeli attack on Iran on Monday sparked the biggest rise in oil prices since the turmoil that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Costa’s comments came as the Kremlin said all sides wanted to continue US-brokered peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, but that no date or location had yet been agreed for the next round.

Russia and Ukraine held three rounds of talks in Turkiye last year and have held several more US-brokered sessions this year in Abu Dhabi and Geneva. But they remain far apart on key issues, especially on Russia’s demand that Ukraine give up control of its entire eastern Donetsk region.

On Monday, US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin held their first phone call of the year, during which they discussed the wars in Iran and Ukraine.

The Kremlin said the possibility of lifting US sanctions on Russian oil had not been discussed in detail with Washington, but that US actions were aimed at stabilizing global energy markets.

Following this call, Putin said that Russia, the world’s second-largest oil exporter and holder of the largest natural gas reserves, was willing to work again with European clients if they wanted to return to long-term cooperation.

Before the Ukraine war, Europe bought more than 40 percent of its gas from Russia. By 2025, Russia’s combined pipeline gas and LNG sales accounted for only 13 percent of total EU imports.

Also on Monday, Trump said his administration would lift some sanctions on oil-producing countries to keep energy prices down, although he did not say which ones.

Washington currently maintains sanctions on the oil sectors of Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

The Reuters news agency, citing multiple anonymous sources, reported that Trump was considering easing sanctions on Russia as part of his plans to keep oil prices low.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week announced a 30-day waiver of sanctions on Russian oil sales to India to help it cope with supply cuts from the Middle East.