European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that she promised US President Donald Trump that the EU would stop buying Russian oil and gas faster, DPA reported, quoted by BTA.
Von der Leyen wrote in "Ex" that she spoke on the phone with Trump yesterday. She promised, quoted by Agence France-Presse, that the European Commission would soon present a 19th package of sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine more than three and a half years ago. It will be aimed specifically at cryptocurrencies, banks and the energy sector, the European Commission President said.
Yesterday, Trump first demanded that the EU stop buying Russian oil before the US imposes sanctions on Russia.
"Russia's military economy, supported by fossil fuel revenues, is financing the bloodshed in Ukraine", Von der Leyen reported in her publication. She announced that "to put an end to this, the (European) Commission will propose accelerating the phasing out of Russian fossil fuel imports".
The EU has already banned most Russian oil imports, reducing its share from 29% at the beginning of 2021 to 2% by the middle of this year, AFP notes. The European Union also plans to completely stop buying oil and gas from Russia by the end of 2027. Von der Leyen said yesterday that Brussels wants to achieve this goal even sooner.