The European Union (EU) is divided over Russia's oil imports. Germany says it will be able to move towards implementing the EU decision. Hungary opposes Russia's oil and gas embargo News from AFP and Reuters
Discussions are underway on how the European Union can cut off Russia's energy (oil and gas) supply. An emergency meeting of EU energy ministers was held in Brussels, Belgium, on Monday.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of the Brussels meeting, German Finance Minister Robert Habek said Russia would be able to run without oil by the end of the year. However, Germany is not in a position to support a gas embargo.
Regarding oil imports from Russia, Habek said that Germany had already reduced its oil imports from Russia by 35 to 25 percent. His country is working to find alternative suppliers.
Habek said there were divisions among EU member states over energy sanctions on Russia. Hungary has made clear its opposition to banning both oil and gas. Germany is not ready to ban gas imports from Russia on its own.
Hungarian government spokesman Joltan Kovacs said his country opposes EU sanctions on oil and gas imported from Russia. "Hungary has not changed its position on any sanctions on oil and gas," he said. We do not support them (the EU decision). "
The EU Commission is working to impose a sixth round of sanctions on member states to stop oil and gas imports from Russia. To that end, EU energy ministers will hold a series of emergency talks this week. EU leaders hope that through this they will be able to reach a consensus. However, German Finance Minister Robert Habek has already said that there is no consensus among the 28 members of the alliance.
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