EU Discusses New Sanctions Against Russia, May Impose Embargo on Oil
By The Messenger Staff
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
According to the Foreign Ministers of Lithuania and Ireland, the EU should strengthen sanctions against Russia and apply them to the energy sector.
The EU has already imposed tough sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, including the sale of central bank assets. Personal sanctions affect Russian government officials and oligarchs.
However, the Russian war in Ukraine has been going on for 26 days. The city of Mariupol is under siege, Russia does not allow citizens to evacuate, and the city is not supplied with water, food, and electricity.
“When I look at the scale of the devastation in Ukraine, it is difficult to say why we should put pressure on the energy sector, especially oil and coal,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ireland, Simon Cowen at the meeting of the Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs of the European Union.
Diplomats told Reuters that the Baltic states, including Lithuania, were considering an oil and coal embargo as a further logical step. However, Germany says action against Russia is moving too fast, while prices for energy products in Europe are already high.
“Talking about the energy sector is inevitable. We should really talk about oil because that's the most money in the Russian budget. We should not get tired of imposing sanctions on Russia, and helping Ukraine,” said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis.