EU to discuss Russian oil embargo after French election / Article

The EU has long refrained from discussing a ban on Russian oil, given its importance to Germany and other countries, and the possible economic and political consequences of such an embargo on the region.

Officials and diplomats explain that the EU is now moving towards a phasing-out ban to give Germany and other countries time to organize alternative supplies.

The EU has taken a similar approach in the past, banning Russian coal with a four-month transition period.

Negotiations on the oil embargo will take place only after the second round of the French presidential election, which is expected on April 24, the newspaper’s interlocutors said.

It was decided to avoid a situation where a possible rise in gas prices would damage President Emanuel Macron’s chances of re-election.

“There is a growing sense” that the embargo will be imposed even if there are no “new discoveries” in the war in Ukraine about Russian war crimes, such as the Bush massacre, the newspaper said.

CONTEXT:

On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to start Russian troops invade Ukraine. Putin claimed that NATO was going to use Ukraine as a bridgehead for aggression against Russia, although there was no evidence of these allegations. Ukraine believes that Putin’s real goal is to destroy Ukraine’s statehood and bring the territory under Moscow’s control.

Russia hoped to occupy Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities within a few days, but the Ukrainian armed forces showed fierce resistance to the occupiers and Russia has failed to meet its targets. Russian occupation forces continue to fire on Ukrainian cities, causing increasing civilian casualties.

In early April, the international community was shocked by news from the Kiev region of the city of Bucca, where Russian troops brutally retaliated against the civilian population. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described it as a war crime and genocide against the Ukrainian people.

More than 4.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of the war.

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has provoked a general one condemnation of the international communityagainst Russia is new sanctions have been introduced. Many Western companies have decided to leave the Russian market.

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