Agencies-Gaza post
Europe faces division after banning Russian gas, oil imports
EU Foreign Ministers meet on Monday to look into imposing the sixth package of sanctions on Moscow against the stage of the war in Ukraine, but the bloc remains divided over the issue of banning Russian gas and oil imports.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Friday during her visit to Kyiv that the European Union was now committed to imposing sanctions on Russia to increasingly punish Russian President Vladimir Putin.
She added, “We have just imposed severe sanctions on Russia and we are preparing for a sixth package.”
Although the sanctions that will be most harmful to Russia, namely the European Union boycott of its energy imports, are not officially on the table, European diplomats confirm that there are negotiations on them.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has always called on the European Union to impose a similar ban.
The fifth package of European sanctions against Moscow, which was imposed on Friday, includes a European ban on imports of Russian coal, an important first step towards a broader ban on other energy resources.
Since the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine on 24 February last, the Kremlin has made more than 25 billion euros in sales of gas, oil, and coal to the European Union, according to EU foreign policy official Josep Burrell.
Source: HERE
