By Julia Payne, Philip Blenkinsop and Andrew Gray
BRUSSELS, July 23 (Reuters) - European Union envoys agreed on a 21st sanctions package against Russia over its war in Ukraine, imposing curbs on its banking sector while also finding a compromise with Greece to soften restrictions on Russian LNG, four EU diplomats said on Thursday.
The package granted a one-year exemption allowing EU companies to transfer Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries, with an automatic renewal, after demands from
Greece. Sanctions require unanimity to be adopted.
"Member states showed solidarity with Greece and it's expected that Greece will do the same with others in the future," one EU diplomat said.
Athens said a forthcoming ban on transfer services of Russian LNG to third countries would simply shift market share outside Europe and would not impact Russian revenues. The measure was due to come into effect on January 1. EU imports of Russian LNG will still be banned from that date.
Greece dominates Europe's LNG carrier market and is among the biggest players globally, competing with Japan, China and the United States.
The package includes a 12-month freeze on the Russian oil price cap at $44.10 a barrel. A scheduled review would have increased the price cap on the back of the Iran war, providing substantially higher earnings to Moscow.
"We’re...freezing the oil price cap adjustment for a year, so that the Russian war machine does not benefit from market shocks," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.
The package designates 94 Russian financial institutions - mainly banks - alongside Moscow's stock exchange. Once adopted, these entities will fall under the full weight of sanctions which include asset freezes, travel and transaction bans.
The restrictions target the banking sector in an effort to squeeze Russia's financial system at what the EU sees as a vulnerable time for its economy.
In addition, the package targets vessels helping Russia's shadow fleet for the first time and bans transactions with more crypto platforms and oil trading companies.
The technical work on the sanctions package will now be concluded and a written procedure for adoption will be launched on Thursday afternoon.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop, Andrew Gray and Julia Payne; Writing by Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Makini Brice and Toby Chopra)
