US 'applauds' EU's ban on 90% Russian oil imports amid Moscow-Kyiv war

The United States ‘applauded’ the European Union's (EU) announcement banning 90% of Russian oil imports in the bloc’s massive sixth sanction package against Moscow. Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, the EU moved to ban two-thirds of Russian oil imports in a measure against Moscow’s military aggression in Ukraine as the conflict entered its 98th day. Hailing the significant move by the EU, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said that Washington welcomes the bloc’s steps to reduce dependency on Russian oil.

“We applaud the steps by our European allies and partners to reduce their reliance on Russian oil and natural gas by diversifying their sources of energy and reducing consumption in line with our shared climate goals,” said State Department spokesperson Ned Price during the daily press briefing.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy called on the 27-nation-bloc to the European Union to adopt the sixth sanctions package against Russia “as soon as possible". Zelenskyy said at the joint presser, alongside his Slovakian counterpart Zuzana Chaputova in Kyiv, "The situation when more than fifty days have passed between the fifth and sixth sanctions packages against Russia is not acceptable to us. It is good that we see progress in approving the sixth EU sanctions package. We hope that the sixth package will be approved in the near future". 

Earlier, EU leaders agreed on a deal banning the two-thirds import of Russian oil and petroleum products by sea. The bloc’s plan was announced by European Council President Charles Michel on Twitter, who also said that it would immediately hit 75% of Russian oil imports and by the end of the year, it would impact 90% of supplies from Moscow. 

EU leaders still have to set final details on the ban

EU’s plan includes a temporary carve-out for oil delivered from Russia to Europe by pipeline. The exemption was a concession by the bloc’s countries to Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which are dependent on pipeline deliveries. However, the leaders of 27 EU nations still have to come up with the final details of the plan. They still have to make a decision on how long the pipeline exemption is set to last. 

Image: AP