Macron says EU to reduce imports of Russian oil 92% in 2022

PARIS/BERLIN/BRUSSELS/ROME, May 31 (PRIME) -- The E.U. will decrease imports of Russian oil by 92% by the end of 2022, France's President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday during a news conference following the E.U. summit.

“We have agreed on the package of sanctions… They will help us reduce the use of Russian oil by 92% by the end of the year… The new package of anti-Russian sanctions is a historical one. We have decided to get rid of our dependence on Russian oil as soon as possible,” he said.

Macron also did not rule out imposition of an embargo on Russian gas in the future, adding that the decision will be linked with the situation in Ukraine.

The sixth package of the E.U.’s sanctions against Russia will include three Russian television channels and 80 oligarchs, and will unlink a Russian bank from the international interbank settlement system SWIFT, he added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at a news conference that Germany and Poland will continue work on abandoning Russian oil by the end of 2022 independently of the measures envisages by the E.U.’s sixth package of sanctions.

Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said following the summit that the E.U.’s gas storages are 41% full, which is a 5% rise in replenishment as compared with the same date of 2021.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to the E.U. from non-Russian sources doubled in January–March, she added.

Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi said that the sanctions against imports of Russian oil and gas will be very lengthy, and the trading channels will change for many years to come, “if not forever.”

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