The European Union is set to cease coal imports from Russia this summer, intending to phase out Russia oil supply until the end of 2022 and "severely" reduce gas imports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told The Indian Express media outlet on Monday
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd May, 2022) The European Union is set to cease coal imports from Russia this summer, intending to phase out Russia oil supply until the end of 2022 and "severely" reduce gas imports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told The Indian Express media outlet on Monday.
"Many countries have joined these sanctions, even if this necessarily implies economic costs for ourselves. We are furthermore now implementing a very ambitious policy to reduce our dependency on the import of fossil fuels from Russia. We will stop the import of Russian coal this summer, we will phase out Russian oil until the end of the year and will reduce gas imports from Russia severely," Scholz said in an interview.
Ahead of Scholz's upcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 8 in Berlin, the chancellor also said that concluding an India-EU Free Trade Agreement will be an "important step."
On April 8, the EU approved the 5th package of sanctions against Russia over the military operation in Ukraine, including a ban on purchasing, importing or transferring Russian coal and other solid fossil fuels into the EU, on providing access to EU ports to vessels registered under the flag of Russia, and further export bans targeting jet fuel and other goods such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, high-end electronics, software, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment.
On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk appealed for help in defending themselves against Ukrainian forces. In response to Russia's operation, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Moscow and handed over to Ukraine a significant amount of lethal military aid.
