The UK and EU agreed to a ban on insuring ships carrying Russian oil, after the European Council earlier agreed to ban seaborne imports of Russian oil.
The insurance ban could have much broader consequences for Russian exports, says Financial Times, as it the country will have to look for insurance in smaller, less developed markets.
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In addition, a senior commission official added that the G7 countries were working towards an insurance ban. The ban would not take effect for six months, the official said, after which Russia will have “a big problem shipping the stuff around.”
The partial ban on Russian oil imports covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine, Michel announced in a tweet.
More specifically, the EU agreed to ban 90% of Russian oil imports by the end of the year, the leaders of the European Council said. Russian oil delivered by tankers would be banned, while an exemption will be made for the southern segment of the Druzhba pipeline, said Ursula von der Leyen.
According to CNN, officials first proposed joining the US and others in banning Russia’s oil a month ago as part of a sixth package of EU sanctions over the country’s invasion of Ukraine. However, an agreement has been held up by some countries, like Hungary, that are particularly reliant on Russian crude delivered via pipeline.
