EU ministers are willing to sanction Russian oil exports

Brussels, 21 Mar Several foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) were on Monday in favor of sanctioning Russian oil exports as a possible new restrictive measure due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, although they did not comment on gas exports, on which States largely depend members such as Germany. “We cannot tire of imposing sanctions (...) It is inevitable to start talking about oil,” which is what gives Russia the highest revenue and is most easily “replaceable,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the press upon his arrival at a meeting of EU foreign ministers where they will address the situation in Ukraine. He also asked to start “talking about red lines”, such as Russia could use “weapons of mass destruction” in Ukraine, as a biological or chemical attack. “Would everything go on as if nothing? I don't think. It is the credibility of the West that is at stake,” he said, while considering that, if Beijing supplies arms to Russia, “it would mean that China joins the conflict.” The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, acknowledged that ministers will consider what kind of new sanctions they can push, “especially related to energy,” while Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that trade, particularly in oil and coal, could be “interrupted. ” Russians. He also stated that he would like to see a “collective decision” to extend the use of the European Peace Support Fund “beyond what has already been agreed”, that is, to finance with another 500 million euros lethal and non-lethal material for Ukraine, as well as “more collective effort” so that “all Member States participate and contribute” to the response to “mass migration” from the attacked country. He made it clear that the EU will show its “unity” whether decisions are made today with whether it is made at the leaders' summit on Thursday and Friday in Brussels. German Minister Annalena Baerbock said her country is “looking for alternatives to oil and gas to end Russia's dependence on fossil fuels.” “We need to be open to further sanctions against Russia and to combat propaganda and disinformation,” said his Romanian counterpart, Bogdan Aurescu, who also defended “see what else we can do to further isolate Russia internationally.” Likewise, he stated that both Ukraine and Moldova and Georgia - also threatened by Russia - “deserve to be members of the European family.” The European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi, said that they have already “started work on the opinion on Ukraine's request to be a member state”. “This is something that President (of the European Commission, Ursula) von der Leyen and President (Ukrainian, Volodymyr) Zelensky discussed on Friday and we have launched this process and we will work as quickly as we can to deliver it,” he said. The Commissioner also recalled that Brussels has approved a financial aid package of 1.2 billion to Ukraine, of which half have already been given, both to “help them bring food, protection, aid, but also to continue with the reforms” that the EU demands of Kiev in the framework of its association agreement”. Slovenian incumbent Anze Logar advocated a Russian “ban on energy goods” and said that his country will send a chargé d'affaires to Kiev to “prove that it trusts Ukraine” and that country's perspective on the EU. Slovak Minister Ivan Korcok, on the other hand, acknowledged that it is “very difficult” to sanction Russian energy, “because in a situation where you depend almost 100% on oil and 85% on gas, we need more time.” “But politically, I think that is the step that should be on the table and I hope that a discussion will come when (US) President Joe Biden comes” on Thursday to the European Council. On the other hand, asked about the possibility of a special court trying Putin, the Czech Minister, Jan Lipavski, said that it is “too early to have such debates” but added that “we can clearly see that the situation in Mariupol and many other things like taking people into Russia, are criminal acts against the law international”. The Irish and Slovak headlines said they were “open to it”, while the Lithuanian said that “there is a lot of similarity between Putin and Nazism.”