After the latest sanctions decisions to impose an embargo only on coal supplies, it seems that Europe is not confident in its ability to abandon Russian oil and gas, Mikhail Gonchar, President of the Strategy XXI Center for Global Studies, writes in an article..

“The heads of the EU foreign ministries once again did not approve a joint decision to impose an embargo on Russian gas and oil. The discussion of the sixth package of sanctions, which includes this issue, is scheduled to take place after April 17,” the author adds..

At the same time, a partial or short-term embargo is an erroneous and dangerous strategy, emphasizes Gonchar..

“It may lead to a further increase in prices, in particular for gas, which, obviously, will fully compensate Gazprom for the loss of export volumes, as it already happened during the second half of 2021. The decision on a partial embargo without limiting spot prices (price cap) will have the opposite effect,” the expert added.

Pressure and blackmail, the purpose of which is to cross out EU laws and the free market, to subordinate all sources of gas supplies to its own monopoly, to tie the issue of gas to the maximum possible to put forward political demands - these are the means of influence on the Europeans of the Russian Federation, which now continues to physically torture Ukrainians. And on the issue of energy sanctions, there should be a strong and comprehensive reaction from the EU, expert warns.

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Read more about EU energy sanctions, the most effective impact on the Russian economy, in Mikhail Gonchar's article “Europe in Russia's energy trap: how to overcome dependence?