Germany has promised to stop importing Russian oil by the end of this year, so has Britain’s promise.
Only large sanctions against the Russian Federation, such as an embargo on the import of Russia’s energy resources, will take away the opportunity for the Kremlin to finance the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is sure.
In the coming days, the EU, rightly, will consider the issue of imposing sanctions on Russia’s oil.
What are the prospects?
Largest Buyer
“In the summer we will reduce oil imports by half, and by the end of the year we will reach zero, and gas will follow,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said.
Germany buys about a quarter of its oil and 40% of its gas from Russia. This is a significant share of Russia’s imports compared to, for example, the UK, whose Russian gas imports last year reached almost 8%.
Britain also said earlier that it wants to phase out Russian oil by the end of the year. The United States has already banned Russian oil imports.
According to Burbock, Germany will follow a “common European road map” in its rejection of Russian fuel. The European Union plans to become independent from Russia’s energy carriers by 2030.
“Our standard output, the full output of EU countries is our standard strength,” Burbock said.
At the same time, Germany believes that the immediate rejection of oil and gas from Russia could lead to a physical suspension of factories, he added. Earlier this week, economists predicted a recession for the German economy in 2023 if Russia’s oil and gas imports are immediately abandoned.
How to convince the EU
Russia’s decline in energy resources is a painful topic for the EU. Once a decision was made, countries like Hungary, Germany, and Austria put a spoke on the steering wheel.
“Ukraine needs to form alliances, work with societies in EU countries, prove to them that sanctions are a necessary sacrifice. We must convince that the inflation that the continuation of the war will bring is greater than the increase of prices due to the imposition of this embargo, ”said adviser to the Minister of Energy of Ukraine Lana Zerkal.
At the same time, according to him, Ukraine should offer EU countries other mechanisms for obtaining energy resources. Today we propose to introduce an initial embargo on Russian oil and oil products arriving by sea.
“It is possible to completely replace Russia’s oil in Europe in 9 months,” Zerkal is sure.
But with gas it will be more difficult, because gas is 155 billion cubic meters, which are now supplied from Russia to the EU. And then there are countries that are 40% dependent on Russia’s gas. It is, first of all, Germany and Italy.
Source: korrespondent
