Does The E.U. Oil Embargo Even Matter To Russia?

In a bold move, the E.U. has announced that it will reduce its reliance on Russian oil by up to 90% by year’s end.

The problem is that Moscow does not seem phased by this recent proposal and has indicated that they will simply find new importers of their energy.

Russia is one of the most resource-rich countries on the planet with the most populous nations on the planet as its neighbors.

India has a population of roughly 1.3 billion people and China roughly 1.4 billion. That is a combined 2.7 billion consumers right in the Russian Federation’s backyard.

Both of these countries are friendly toward Russia and an oil embargo from the Western states could prove to be counter-productive, ultimately pushing the Eastern bloc closer together.

Does the E.U. hope to bring peace to the region, or rehash the same problems we had in the mid-20th century and beyond?

Here’s what we currently know:

JUST IN: E.U. leaders agree to embargo most Russian oil imports into the bloc by year-end as part of new sanctions on Moscow. https://t.co/y3DzEidGWy

— NBC News (@NBCNews) May 31, 2022

Crude Climbs as E.U. Agrees to Ban 90% of Russian Oil Imports https://t.co/Oc5YiQRS9g

— sinnasone (@Anon_Matsa) June 1, 2022

Coverage of the proposed oil embargo came via TIME:

EU Council President Charles Michel said the agreement covers more than two-thirds of oil imports from Russia. Ursula Von der Leyen, the head of the EU’s executive branch, said the punitive move will “effectively cut around 90% of oil imports from Russia to the EU by the end of the year.”

The EU’s top trade official says China will exploit Russia’s need to diversify where it sells its energy, with the bloc set to ban as much as 90% of Moscow’s crude oil imports by year’s end https://t.co/4ofTjeUvtX

— Bloomberg (@business) June 1, 2022

Oil prices soared on Tuesday following news that EU leaders had reached a consensus on a plan to ban nearly all Russian oil imports by the end of the year, seeking to punish Moscow for its war in Ukraine.

https://t.co/mnbheXDZdw

— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 1, 2022

Moscow’s response was featured in The Epoch Times:

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russian Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna, reacted to the decision with a critical tweet.

“Russia will find other importers. Noteworthy that now she contradicts her own yesterday’s statement. Very quick change of the mindset indicates that the #E.U. is not in a good shape,” Ulyanov wrote.