The EU’s partial embargo covers Russian oil brought into the bloc by sea, with an exemption carved out for imports delivered by pipeline following opposition from Hungary.
Attila Kisbenedek | Afp | Getty Images
Moscow pledged to find other importers for its oil shortly after the world’s largest trading bloc agreed to impose a partial embargo on Russian crude.
The European Union on Monday agreed to ban most Russian oil imports by the end of the year as part of new measures designed to punish the Kremlin over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The move was hailed by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell as a “landmark decision to cripple [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war machine.”
It covers Russian oil brought into the bloc by sea, with an exemption carved out for imports delivered by pipeline following opposition from Hungary.
The EU’s long-delayed sixth package of sanctions against Russia required approval from all 27 member states.
Responding to the measures, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Austria, said the oil ban reflects negatively on the bloc.
“As she rightly said yesterday, #Russia will find other importers,” Ulyanov said via Twitter, referring specifically to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Noteworthy that now she contradicts her own yesterday’s statement. Very quick change of the mindset indicates that the #EU is not in a good shape,” he added.
The EU’s von der Leyen welcomed the bloc’s agreement on oil sanctions against Russia. She said the policy would effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the bloc by the end of the year, and soon return to the issue of the remaining 10% of pipeline oil.
Roughly 36% of the EU’s oil imports come from Russia, a country that plays an outsized role in global oil markets.
To be sure, Russia is the world’s third-largest oil producer, behind the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, and the world’s largest exporter of crude to global markets. It is also a major producer and exporter of natural gas.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly insisted the EU impose a total embargo on Russian oil and gas, with energy-importing countries continuing to top up Putin’s war chest on a daily basis.
‘As good as could be achieved’
Oil prices jumped on the news.
International benchmark Brent crude futures rose 1.3% to $123.29 a barrel during early morning deals in London, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures climbed 3% to $118.61.
European Council President Charles Michel said the compromise on oil sanctions reaffirmed the bloc’s unity in response to the Kremlin’s onslaught. It had been thought that a failure to secure any type of deal would likely have been heralded as a victory for Putin.
“I think it is as good as could be achieved,” Adi Imsirovic, senior research fellow at The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Tuesday.
Imsirovic said the EU’s decision paves the way for the bloc, together with the U.S.,…
Read More: Moscow says it will find other importers after EU ban