At point 12 of joint position statement of the G7 countriesissued by the White House, which mentions the sanctions imposed on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine, the seven commit themselves in paragraph a) to stop importing Russian oil.
“We are determined to end our dependence on Russian energy resources, including stopping or banning the import of Russian oil. We will ensure that this is done in an orderly and timely manner and in such a way that the world has time to secure alternative supplies.” , the statement says.
“This will deal a serious blow to the main artery of Putin’s economy and deprive him of the necessary funding to finance the war,” the statement said.
The text does not specify what commitments were made by the members of the G7 (France, Germany, Canada, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US), which this Sunday held its third meeting of the year via videoconference with the participation of the President of Ukraine., Vladimir Zelensky.
The choice of date is very symbolic as it marks the end of World War II in Europe. The rally was also held on the eve of the military parade in Russia on May 9, dedicated to the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany.
So far, the West has demonstrated very close coordination in its statements about sanctions against Moscow. However, when it comes to Russian oil and gas, it is not progressing at the same pace.
The US, which was not a major consumer of Russian oil, has already banned its imports. Even now, EU members forced to apply this measure are much more dependent on Russia.
In this sense, the EU continued this Sunday intensive negotiations on an embargo on Russian oil.
Meanwhile, the United States has also announced new sanctions against Russia that affect the media and the access of Russian companies and big fortunes to consulting and accounting services, both American and British, that are the best in the world.
By including Channel One, Rossiya-1 and NTV on its list, Washington prohibits any American company from funding them through advertising or equipment sales. “No American company should be involved in the financing of Russian propaganda,” said a senior White House official who asked not to be named.
It also banned “audit, management, consulting, marketing services, all services used to manage multinational companies and also potentially to avoid sanctions or hide ill-gotten wealth,” the same source said.
The official also noted that while Europeans have closer industrial ties to Russia, the United States and the UK, on the other hand, dominate the services universe, namely through the Big Four, the world’s four audit and consulting giants. : Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC.
Washington also announced new export bans to Russia on US products, on everything from excavators to ventilation systems and boilers.
Finally, visa restrictions were announced for 2,600 Russian and Belarusian officials, as well as sanctions against employees of Sberbank and Gazprombank.
US President Joe Biden has already announced a G7 meeting this week, without giving an exact date, on possible additional sanctions against Russia.
“We are always open to additional sanctions, and this week I consulted with members of the G7 about what we are going to do or not do,” Biden said Wednesday at the White House.
Created in 1975, the group of most industrialized countries was part of Russia until 2014, when the country was expelled for invading and annexing the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
