The German government supports the EU plans to ban oil imports from Russia. In recent preliminary talks on a sixth round of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, Germany has made clear its support for an embargo, dpa reported on Sunday, May 1, citing European diplomats in Brussels..

As the agency notes, the imposition of an oil embargo against Russia by the EU has become much more likely.. Only Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Spain, Italy and Greece now oppose this measure..

Slovakia and Hungary oppose imminent embargo due to overdependence on Russian oil supplies, diplomats say. At the same time, in the countries of Southern Europe, there is a strong fear of rising energy prices for consumers after the rejection of Russian fuel..

Recent advances in finding alternative fuel suppliers have influenced Germany's repositioning.

German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said on April 26 that over the past eight weeks, Germany's dependence on Russian oil has been reduced from 35 percent before the start of the war in Ukraine to 12 percent..

According to dpa, the European Commission intends to present a draft of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia in the coming days in order to further increase pressure on the Kremlin in Russia's war against Ukraine. At the same time, it is possible that, due to a significant number of opponents of a speedy renunciation of Russian oil, the embargo can only be introduced in autumn or even winter..

Source: DW.