Kushagra Bansal – Mumbai Uncensored, 3rd May 2022
On Monday, Germany said it was willing to support an immediate European Union embargo on Russian oil, a significant reversal from Moscow’s largest energy customer that might allow Europe to impose such a restriction within days.
Russia’s oil exports, which are by far its largest source of revenue, have largely escaped international sanctions as a result of the conflict in Ukraine. According to Kyiv, this loophole allows European countries to bankroll the Kremlin’s war campaign by sending hundreds of millions of euros to Moscow every day.
“Germany is not opposed to a Russian oil embargo. Of course, it is a great burden to bear, but we are prepared to do so “Before meeting with his EU colleagues in Brussels, Greens Economy Minister Robert Habeck told reporters.
Before Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24, Germany had already decreased the share of Russian oil in its imports from 35 percent to 12 percent, but had previously stated that it would take months to phase out Russian crude to minimise the economic damage at home.
Eastern Germany, in particular, is reliant on fuel from a refinery controlled by Russia’s state oil corporation Rosneft, which is served by the Soviet-era “Friendship” pipeline, which runs thousands of miles to Siberian oil reserves.
It will be easier to wean Europe off Russian oil than it will be to wean Europe off Russian natural gas. The EU opposes Moscow’s demand that European customers pay for gas in roubles. Moscow shut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria last week. On Monday, EU ministers met to formulate a common response.
After an overnight bus journey across the front-line, the first civilians to be evacuated from a massive steel mill in Mariupol were due to arrive in the Ukrainian-held city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday.
