The European Union has proposed its toughest sanctions yet against Russia, Reuters reports, including a phased oil embargo.
Piling pressure on Russia’s already battered $1.8 trillion economy, Brussels proposed phasing out imports of Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of this year.
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“[President Vladimir] Putin must pay a price, a high price, for his brutal aggression,” European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told European Union lawmakers in Strasbourg.
The plan, if agreed by all 27 EU governments, would follow US and British oil bans and be a watershed for the world’s largest trading bloc, which remains dependent on Russian energy and must find alternative supplies.
US President Joe Biden said he would speak to other Group of Seven leaders this week about possible further steps against Moscow.
“We’re always open to additional sanctions,” Biden told reporters in Washington.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba welcomed the news from the European Union, but stressed the urgency of acting to starve Russia’s war machine.
“My position is simple: every euro paid to Russia for gas, oil or other goods ends up as rounds of ammunition in Ukraine to kill my compatriots,” he told Austrian TV channel Puls 4 in an interview.
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The Kremlin said Russia was weighing various responses to the EU plan, adding that the measures would be costly for European citizens.
A source said European Union envoys could reach a deal later this week on the plan, which also targets Russia’s top bank, its broadcasters, and hundreds of individuals.
