Germany announces support for Russian oil embargo

Contrary to its previous position, Berlin has stated its support for EU sanctions against the sale of Russian oil due to the invasion of Ukraine, according to Fars News Agency’s International Service.

According to Reuters, the European Commission intends to present the sixth package of EU sanctions this week against Russia due to military operations in Ukraine, which includes possible sanctions on the sale of Russian oil.

The EU’s move comes as Kiev says Russia’s energy exports to Europe, which has so far been exempt from international sanctions, could fund the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine and supply it with millions of euros a day.

“This package should include clear steps to block revenues from Russia’s energy resources,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinsky said in a nightly video speech.

The news comes as German Foreign Minister Annalna Bayerbock announced on Sunday that Western sanctions against Russia would not be lifted due to a military strike on Ukraine unless Moscow withdraws its troops from the neighboring country. .

On the other hand, Germany announced yesterday (Monday) that it is ready to support immediate EU sanctions against Russian oil.

“We have reached a point where Germany can withstand oil sanctions,” said German Economy Minister Robert Hobek.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Schultz has been more cautious in supporting Ukraine than other Western leaders, and has therefore come under increasing pressure to take a more assertive stance.

Schultz has vowed that Berlin will not lift sanctions against Moscow until Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a peace agreement with Ukraine that is acceptable to Kiev.

EU ministers warned at a meeting yesterday that full compliance with Moscow’s demand to pay for gas purchased from Russia in rubles was in violation of current EU sanctions.

The ambassadors of the European Union countries intend to discuss the proposed sanctions against Russian oil in their meeting tomorrow (Wednesday).

It was previously reported that the European Union was seeking to impose a Russian oil embargo by the end of this year, and the Bloomberg website reported that the EU was seeking to impose restrictions on Russian oil imports gradually until the end of this period.

The Europeans are seeking to increase sanctions against Russia, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying the lifting of sanctions is part of talks between Moscow and Kiev, and that talks with Ukraine, although difficult, are continuing every day.

Russia launched a military operation on February 24 following Kiev’s failure to implement the terms of the Minsk agreement, first signed in 2014, as well as after Moscow recognized the Donbass Donetsk and Luhansk republics of Ukraine. Began its special in Ukraine.

Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the United States and its allies have imposed heavy sanctions on Russia and provided significant financial and weapons assistance to the Ukrainians. A Kremlin spokesman recently warned that the supply of heavy weapons and military equipment to Ukraine would threaten European security and lead to instability.

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