EU approves partial ban on Russian oil import

The EU has approved the sixth package of sanctions against Russia and Belarus, the Council of the European Union stated on its website.

The new restrictions impose a stage-by-stage ban on the import of Russian oil into the EU. The phasing out of Russian oil will take from 6 months for crude oil to 8 months for other refined petroleum products, the Council of the EU informs.

“A temporary exception is foreseen for imports of crude oil by pipeline into those EU member states that, due to their geographic situation, suffer from a specific dependence on Russian supplies and have no viable alternative options,” the organisation added. An exemption will also be made for Bulgaria and Croatia when it comes to the import of Russian seaborne crude oil and vacuum gas oil respectively.

The new sanctions package also supposes the “de-SWIFTing” of several Russian banks – Sberbank, Credit Bank of Moscow, and Russian Agricultural Bank – and the Belarusian Bank for Development and Reconstruction.

The EU is also suspending the broadcasting of Russian state-owned TV channels: Rossiya RTR/RTR Planeta, Rossiya 24 / Russia 24 and TV Centre International.

The EU will also prohibit the provision of accounting, public relations and consultancy services to Russian entities, the statement notes.

Yesterday, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions against Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Ministry of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, as well as Russian businessman Alexey Mordashov and members of his family. A number of entities connected to Mordashov were also targeted by the sanctions, including Severstal, Severgroup, Nordgold and Algoritm.