Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday stated European nations wouldn’t be capable of impose a ban on Russian oil imports.
His remarks got here as EU members failed this week to barter a proposed embargo on Russian oil after a small group of nations continued to oppose the plan.
The proposed embargo is a part of broader motion by the West in opposition to Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
“Clearly, some EU states, in whose vitality steadiness the share of Russian hydrocarbons is particularly excessive, won’t be able to do that for a very long time, to ditch our oil,” Putin stated in a televised tackle.
Putin stated Europe would see larger vitality costs and inflation because of the proposed Russian oil embargo.
“In fact, such an financial suicide is a home affair of the European nations,” he stated.
The US and the UK have already imposed an oil embargo, though on condition that each nations are internet oil exporters, this step is quite less complicated to take.
Putin admitted that the Russian oil market had been hit by “tectonic modifications” amid sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine, including that Moscow would assist home oil producers, together with facilitating entry to loans and insurance coverage.
Why hasn’t the EU imposed an oil embargo?
On Monday, international ministers of the 27-member union gathered to debate a ban on Russian oil imports to be included within the sixth sanction package deal in opposition to Moscow.
EU members should attain a consensus to implement the measure, however a bunch of nations — led by Hungary — have opposed the measure.
The EU has supplied Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia extra time to part out their heavy reliance on Russian oil.
However Budapest has not but agreed, with its authorities saying €800 million ($830 million) in EU funds are wanted to retool a refinery and enhance the capability of a pipeline to Croatia.
Hungary can be in search of to be exempted from the proposed embargo for not less than 4 years.
The place does Germany stand?
Berlin had initially opposed an oil embargo, citing its heavy reliance on Russian vitality.
However Germany lately shifted its stance, saying it will agree if its Western allies did and assist attempt to allow one.
On Tuesday, German Overseas Annalena Baerbock warned in opposition to division amongst EU nations.
“Our unity because the EU has been our power to date,” she stated, with many analysts stunned on the ease with which all 27 EU members had voted in help of among the staunchest financial sanctions ever levied in opposition to a contemporary economic system.
However Baerbock additionally expressed understanding for some EU member states who’ve issues phasing out Russian vitality, saying all of the totally different factors of view needed to be reconciled.
“There may be not the ‘one measurement matches all’ answer,” she stated.
fb/msh (AFP, Reuters)