Germany is ready to support a European ban on imports of Russian oil, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Germany would agree on any new sanctions on Russia with its partners in the European Union.

Iran PressEurope: Germany has warned that EU consumers should brace for a big economic hit and higher energy prices as Berlin said it was willing to back an embargo of Russian oil to punish Moscow for its war on Ukraine.  

The European Union has already agreed to phase out Russian coal imports as part of the fifth wave of sanctions imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

But the bloc has found it much harder to reach a consensus on joining a US embargo on Russian oil despite weeks of talks. Hungary reiterated its opposition to an oil embargo on Monday, Reuters reported.

Lindner said he did not want to speculate on whether certain EU member states, such as Hungary, should have exemptions or exclusions from an oil embargo.

Last year, Russia accounted for around 27% of EU oil imports. It also supplied about 40% of Europe’s natural gas. EU leaders have already pledged to cut Russian gas imports by 66% this year and completely break the bloc’s dependency by 2027. 219

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