“We are working on the sixth package of sanctions aimed at isolating more banks from the SWIFT (international financial payments) system, establishing a list of those responsible for disinformation, as well as dealing with (Russian) oil imports,” Borrell said on Twitter.
Diplomats said the latest set of sanctions would also target Sberbank, Russia’s largest bank, joining several others that have already been cut off from the SWIFT system.
Borrell said the European Commission’s proposed measures against Russia, which launched a land, sea and air attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24, would be submitted to the bloc’s 27 member states for approval.
Officials said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to outline the proposed sanctions on Wednesday, which would include a ban on Russian oil imports by the end of this year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the West on Tuesday that it could halt exports and not honor deals in response to the burden of sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States.
An embargo on Russian oil would deprive Moscow of a large revenue stream, but the attempt to reach an agreement on this measure has split the European Union countries that depend on Russia for 26 percent of their oil imports.
Hungary and Germany are among the countries that have reservations about the oil embargo. Among her concerns was that higher energy prices would hurt EU economies already struggling with inflation.
Diplomats told Reuters that resistance to the oil import ban had begun to weaken over the past days, after an agreement was reached to provide exemptions for Slovakia and Hungary, which depend heavily on Russian crude.
European Union countries have paid more than 47 billion euros ($47.43 billion) to Russia for gas and oil since the war in Ukraine, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
#upcoming #European #sanctions #package #oil #banks #Russia