MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 31st May, 2022) Moscow will find other oil importers that will replace the European Union after it reached an agreement on a partial ban of Russian oil supplies, Permanent Representative of Russia to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, European Council President Charles Michel said that the EU leaders managed to mend the differences and agreed on a partial ban on Russian oil imports on the first day of the summit in Brussels, effectively unblocking the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow. The partial embargo will hit two-thirds of oil imports from the country.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU will cut oil imports from Russia by 90% by the end of 2022 after reaching the agreement.
"As she (von der Leyen) rightly said yesterday, #Russia will find other importers. 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," Ulyanov said on social media, commenting on von der Leyen's tweet about the agreement.
The sixth EU package of sanctions against Russia still has to be officially approved by all member states and ratified before it goes into effect.
The EU has already rolled out five sanctions packages. The European Commission announced plans to impose a blanket ban on Russian oil weeks ago; however, several European countries, including Hungary, blocked its adoption due to concerns about a negative impact on their economies and energy security. On Sunday, an EU source told Sputnik that the bloc decided against banning deliveries through the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline to solicit Budapest's support. Earlier in the day, Michel also confirmed that supplies of oil coming through the pipeline will not be affected by the sixth sanctions package.
