Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Mar 21: Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called on European countries to suspend all trades with Russia on Monday in a bid to persuade Moscow to end its almost month-long military campaign against his nation.
“Please do not support the Russian military’s weapons of war. There will be no euros for the occupiers. Close all of your ports that are connected to them. Don’t send your items to them. Deny access to energy resources. Push for Russia’s exit from Ukraine,” in a video address, Zelensky said.
In a direct address to Germany, he said: “You have the capability. Europe has the capability.”
Several EU members, particularly the Baltic states, have called for an embargo on Russian oil and gas imports, prompting his appeal.
Germany has been a vocal opponent of a complete ban on Russian energy imports.
EU foreign ministers will meet on Monday to discuss Ukraine and the possibility of sanctions being tightened.
The Kremlin issued advertisements early Monday warning against a European oil embargo, claiming that such a move would “hurt everyone.”
“The global energy market would be severely harmed by such an embargo. It will have a significant detrimental influence on the energy balance of Europe,” Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, told reporters.
The United States announced a ban on Russian oil and gas imports earlier this month, while Britain said it will phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
