EU member states agreed to cut gas consumption by 15 percent by March next year in an attempt to show a unified front against Russia. But implementing the deal won’t be easy.
The crisis triggered last week could lead to snap elections held as early as September, with polls projecting a likely far-right win.
While the EU Commission proposes a mechanism to reduce gas consumption and encourage stockpiling for the winter, member states are going it alone with gas deals.
Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Russia attempts to "destroy" European unity, using gas against Germany to retaliate against the West's support for Ukraine following its assault.
Despite US sanctions, Russia’s oil revenues have increased 50 percent per month since the beginning of 2022, according to the International Energy Agency.
EU leaders have agreed to implement a ban on 90 percent of Russian oil imports in the latest package of sanctions against Russia.
As sanctions tighten, dollars and euros are less useful to Moscow. Is a contractual standoff in the offing between the EU and Russia?
President Joe Biden acknowledged that the move — seen as his administration's most far-reaching action yet to punish Moscow's invasion of Ukraine — will bring costs to Americans, particularly at the gas pump.
"No decision has been made at this point" by US President Biden on implementing a unilateral ban on Russian energy supply, White House says, as Germany cautions against banning Russian oil and gas.
The United States has been in talks with major energy-producing countries and companies around the world over a potential diversion of supplies if Russia plugs gas supply to the EU bloc.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Kiev to meet with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, an ally she has supported in conflict with pro-Russia separatists but has also disappointed him with her appetite for Russian gas.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara is in a decision-making position in the eastern Mediterranean and its determined position remains the same.
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