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MOSCOW, May 14. The G7 countries and the European Union are going to ban the export of Russian gas through pipelines, the supply of which is now suspended, the Financial Times reports, citing sources.
«The decision to be taken by the G7 leaders at the Hiroshima summit next week will prevent the resumption of Russian pipeline gas exports via routes to countries such as Poland and Germany,» the article says.
It notes that the Western powers will block pipeline gas trade for the first time since the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine.
Thus, Western countries, trying to increase economic pressure on Russia, want to ensure that it will not be able to increase revenues from energy exports, the publication concludes.
According to one of the officials, who wished to remain anonymous, the ban on the restart of Russian gas pipelines is needed in order «to make sure that partners do not change their minds in a hypothetical future.»
A draft G7 statement from the Hiroshima summit, obtained by the FT, says that a group of the world's leading economies plans to further reduce the use of Russian energy sources, at least until the Ukrainian conflict is resolved.
This week Bloomberg reported that the European Union proposed to stop the supply of Russian oil via the Druzhba pipeline to Germany and Poland. Moreover, for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which receive oil through the southern branch of the Druzhba, exemptions from sanctions will remain. According to the publication, this proposal will be considered as part of the new, 11th package of EU anti-Russian sanctions.
As President Vladimir Putin has pointed out, containment and weakening Russia is a long-term strategy for the West, but sanctions have dealt a severe blow to the entire global economy. Nevertheless, according to the head of state, it was not possible to undermine the financial stability of Russia, and Europe itself reached a sanctions impasse.