European officials are reportedly drawing up plans for sanctions on Russian oil products amid increasing pressure from its other Western allies.
Earlier this month, the European Union (EU) agreed to block Russian coal with a four -month transitional period to stop ongoing orders.
Following that, they will likely adopt a similar measure against Russian oil, which is said to give Germany more time to find alternative suppliers.
According to a report by The New York Times, they are expected to hold talks on the proposal soon after the final round of the French election on April 24 to ensure the impact on energy prices does not affect Emmanuel Macron’s chances of winning his post again.
The EU, which has imposed five rounds of increasingly harsh financial sanctions on Russia since the aggression began on February 24, is under tremendous pressure by allies urging to put pressure on the Kremlin over its oil imports.
So far, the bloc is still maintaining gas imports from Russia because it is too critical to Europe’s main economy, namely Germany.
Germany and Hungary are among the countries that have refused to impose a ban on Russia’s energy sector due to its very high European dependence.
Russia is the EU’s largest oil supplier, providing the bloc with a quarter of its imports of oil and petroleum products by 2020.
