Had Been Criticized By Ukraian President, European Union Agrees To Embargo 90 Percent Of Russian Oil Imports

Illustration of the European Union. (Wikimedia Commons/Amio Cajander)

JAKARTA - Leaders of European Union countries have agreed to embargo Russia's oil imports by 90 percent by the end of this year, breaking the stalemate over the bloc's toughest sanctions against Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine three months ago, and has drawn criticism from the Ukrainian president.

Diplomats said the agreement would pave the way for other elements of the sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia to be implemented, including cutting Russia's biggest bank Sberbank from the SWIFT messaging system.

"Deal to ban Russian oil exports to the EU," European Council President Charles Michel said in a tweet at the end of the first day of a two-day summit of the bloc's 27 leaders, citing Reuters, May 31.

"This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting off a huge source of financing for its war machine. Maximum pressure on Russia to end the war," he said.

Leaders agreed the oil embargo would include exceptions for Hungary, a landlocked country that relies heavily on crude supplied from Russia, which is a major opponent to the deal and others concerned about the economic impact of the move.

The European Union has launched five rounds of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, demonstrating uncharacteristic speed and unity given the complexity of the measures.

However, the struggle over the oil ban exposes the struggle to widen sanctions as the economic risk for Europe grows, because so many countries depend on Russian crude.

Diplomats, said the leaders reached a political agreement on the oil embargo, while details would be finalized later.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized EU leaders in a video speech for being too soft on Moscow. Addressing the summit before a deal on a ban on oil imports was announced, he criticized the EU's lack of determination.

"Why do you depend on Russia, on their pressure, and not the other way around? Russia should depend on you. Why can Russia still earn almost a billion euros a day selling energy?" President Zelensky's criticism.

"Why are terrorist banks still working with Europe and the global financial system? Serious question," he said.