US and EU officials are negotiating steps the EU could take to limit oil imports from Russia and reduce Moscow’s revenue from sales, citing sources familiar with the matter, according to Bloomberg .
KYIV. UkraineGate , 23 April , 2022 | War News .
Quote
“Discussions include a ban (embargo – ed.), A price cap and a payment mechanism to withhold the revenue that Russia has received since the start of the war in Ukraine,” the agency said, citing sources.
Details
According to one source, the goal of the talks is to find out how to hit Russian President Vladimir Putin as hard as possible.
One of the fears of the United States is that the EU’s direct ban on Russian oil could lead to a sharp rise in prices and provide the Kremlin with even more revenue, the newspaper writes. US Treasury Secretary Janet Ellen said Thursday that a full embargo could hit the European economy hard but will not affect Russia as expected.
It will be up to the EU member states to decide what action to take.
The EU is currently working on its sixth package of sanctions , as well as considering other potential measures that could hit Russia’s oil industry, such as restrictions on certain petroleum products and import taxes. The bloc’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, told Spanish media on Friday that none of the proposals had yet received the full support of all EU member states.
EU sanctions call for unanimity, and a number of countries, including Germany and Hungary, have resisted attempts to ban Russian oil and gas altogether, the agency said.
A spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council said the administration was continuing talks with European allies on strategies to reduce dependence on Russian energy.
According to several sources, the EU may start making proposals for discussion by member states next week. One person told Bloomberg that it would be easier to reach a consensus on a limited oil embargo than to limit imports of diesel and other products.
The EU pays Russia about a billion euros ($ 1.1 billion) a day for energy, and the United States last month banned Russian oil imports.
Addition
According to Bloomberg, Russia has so far withstood large-scale sanctions imposed by the United States, its European allies and other democracies, while the ruble has regained most of its value lost since the Kremlin invasion. However, the economy was hit hard, and the central bank warned this week of a deep and prolonged downturn.
Source: Ukrgate
