EU says bans 75% of Russian oil imports, pipelines untouched

BRUSSELS/TOKYO/VIENNA/MOSCOW, May 31 (PRIME) -- The leaders of the E.U. countries have agreed to ban oil imports from Russia except pipeline imports, European Council President Charles Michel said on Tuesday on his Twitter page.

“This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine,” he said. “And by the end of the year, 90% of Russian oil imported to Europe will be banned. Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war.”

The sixth package of the anti-Russian sanctions also includes disconnection of Sberbank from the SWIFT interbank exchange system, a ban on broadcast for three more Russian state-owned channels, and more individual sanctions, he said.

Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that special exemptions were made for Hungary and the Czech Republic that will be allowed to continue purchases of Russian diesel fuel temporarily, while Hungary will get a delay to upgrade its oil refining capacities that can now refine only Russian oil.

Michel also said that the E.U. permanent representatives would start formalizing the agreements on the new sanctions package on Wednesday.

The E.U. Council is now to approve the sanctions at the ministerial level, and they will come in force after publication in the E.U. journal, the date of which is yet unclear.

Japan welcomed the E.U.’s partial oil ban saying that unity of the G7 countries in reduction of dependency on Russian oil is a priority, Tokyo’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said.

Mikhail Ulyuanov, Russia’s permanent representative to the international organizations in Vienna, said that the partial ban would only make Moscow find other importers.

“As she (Ursula von der Leyen) rightfully said yesterday, Russia will find other importers. It is worth noting that she contradicts her own statements made earlier yesterday. A very swift change in the way of thinking demonstrates that the E.U. is not in a good shape,” he said.

German Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said late on Monday that the oil import ban that the U.S. imposed on Russia before did not have an expected impact.

“Since they sell oil to the global market, the U.S. embargo … raised prices on the global market, and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin receives more money for less oil sold. It is a problem, and we have to find a solution to that, otherwise our right hand will destroy what the left hand creates and vice versa. The oil embargo has not yet had an impact that we hoped for,” he said in an interview to CNN news channel.

Newswire Bloomberg reported quoting sources that a ban on purchases of E.U. property by Russians was excluded from the latest edition of the E.U. sixth round of sanctions on Cyprus insistence.

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