The European Union member countries don't have an agreement on the full embargo or increasing the duties on russian oil and gas imports.
The head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell stated this to the German newspaper Die Welt, as cited by the "Evropeiska pravda".
"To stop the import of oil and gas or to impose a punishing duty would be important to put pressure on Putin and bring him to the table of negotiations. But as of now, we don't have a united position on the matter in the EU," – he said.
Borrell mentioned that the subject would be discussed at the EU summit which will take place at the end of May. He also noted that he didn't expect any decisions on that sooner.
"There is no final position concerning the oil and gas embargo yet," – he said.
At the same time, Borrell emphasized that all the EU countries were working on reducing their dependence on russian oil and gas. He expressed hope that the EU eventually reduces its dependence.
"At some point, it will happen and then Russia will painfully feel that it loses the income from its oil and gas business," – he added.
The US and European Union officials are discussing the ways to shorten the income that russia receives from selling oil. One of the US concerns is that banning oil imports into the EU might lead to a rapid increase in the commodity price and bring the Kremlin even more revenue.
However, as the sources claim the EU is preparing its suggestions for the discussion.
According to the head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak, the oil embargo is a matter of several weeks. Positive signals are coming from France: there are claims that the EU member countries are going to decide on the russian oil import ban in the near future.
Currently, most EU countries are taking steps to reduce russian energy imports to shrink the Kremlin's possibilities to finance the war against Ukraine. In March, the EU leaders promised to reduce the russian gas consumption by 66% by the end of the year and to break the block's dependence on russian energy by 2027. Russian oil is already banned in the US and Great Britain. Germany is planning to give up on russian oil by the end of 2022.
The Austrian finance minister Magnus Brunner stated that his country was ready to support all anti-russia sanctions except for the gas embargo.