G7 countries agree to stop importing oil from Russia


The G7 of the most industrialized countries “committed to ban or phase out imports of Russian oil,” the White House said on Sunday.

“This will deal a heavy blow to the main artery of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s economy and deny him the revenue he needs to finance his war,” it added in a statement.

The text does not specify the commitments assumed by the members of the G7 (France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, Great Britain and the United States), which held its third meeting of the year this Sunday by videoconference, with the participation of the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.

The choice of the date is highly symbolic, as Europeans commemorate the end of the WWII in Europe on May 8.

The meeting was also held on the eve of Russia’s May 9 military parade, marking the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.

“Russia has violated the rules-based international order, in particular the UN Charter, conceived after World War II to save successive generations from the scourge of war,” the group says.

The “unprovoked” war promoted by Putin brought “shame to Russia and the historical sacrifices of its people,” the text adds. “We stand united in our determination that President Putin must not win his war against Ukraine.”

Coordination and dependency

The West has so far shown very close coordination in its sanctions announcements against Moscow.

However, it is not advancing at the same pace when it comes to Russian oil and gas.

USAwhich was not a large consumer of Russian crude, has already banned its import.

The members of the European Unionpressured to apply that measure, are much more dependent on Russia.

The EU continued this Sunday intense negotiations to establish an embargo on Russian oil.

While, USA He also announced new sanctions against Russia, which affect the media and the access of Russian companies and large fortunes to consulting and accounting services, both American and British, which are the great world specialists.

By blacklisting Channel One Russiathe Russia-1 television station and the NTV Broadcasting Company, Washington prohibits any US company from financing them through advertising or selling them equipment.

“No American company should be involved in financing Russian propaganda,” said a senior White House official who requested anonymity.

It also banned “auditing, management, consulting, marketing services, all services used to operate multinational companies, but also potentially to evade sanctions or hide wickedly acquired riches,” the same source said.

He underlined that while the Europeans had closer industrial ties with Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom, on the other hand, they dominated the universe of services, in particular through the “Big Four”, the four world giants of auditing and consulting: Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC.

Washington also announced new bans on the export of US products to Russia, on all capital goods, from bulldozers to ventilation systems and boilers.

Finally, he reported the imposition of visa restrictions on 2,600 Russian and Belarusian personalities, as well as sanctions against officials of the Sberbank and Gazprombank banks.

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