EU ministers meet to discuss further Russian sanctions as cracks emerge
Lithuania is urging the European Union to ban Russian oil as cracks begin to show in how far the EU will go in imposing further sanctions on the Kremlin’s war machine.
As Ukraine defied a Russian ultimatum to surrender the port city of Mariupol, EU foreign ministers gathered in Brussels to discuss further sanctions against Russia at the start of an intense week of diplomacy.
But after four rounds of sweeping EU sanctions in three weeks, tensions are emerging. The Baltic states and Poland are calling for tougher measures, including an oil embargo, while Germany fears a short-term energy ban would cause joblessness and fuel shortages.
Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said it was “unavoidable to start talking about the energy sector” especially oil, which he said was “the biggest revenue to the Russian budget” and “also quite easily replaceable” for the EU.
The EU, which imports 27% of its oil from Russia, has so far not joined the US and UK, in an embargo. Germany has warned that a short-term ban on oil and gas could cause unemployment, poverty and people running out of petrol. Few other western economies are as dependent on Russian energy as Germany: 55% of the natural gas, 52% of the coal and 34% of mineral oil used in the country comes from Russia.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, urged Europe to stop all trade with Russia: “No euros for the occupiers. Close all of your ports to them. Don’t export them your goods. Deny energy resources. Push for Russia to leave Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said in a video speech on Monday.
Addressing Germany directly, he said: “You have the strength. Europe has the strength.”
Arriving at the meeting, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, declined to answer a
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