Unlike the US, Europe will not be able to completely cut off Russian oil imports in the short term. While imposing a total ban on imports from Russia, the White House said that it would not expect Europe to follow suit. However, European countries have begun the diversification of supplies despite their dependence on energy imports. All of the EU countries support the idea of a total embargo on Russian oil imports. Poland and the Baltic states approve of this measure, while Germany and Hungary are concerned about possible price spikes following the decision. One European official said that a minority of countries welcomed the idea. Another source confirms that negotiations on the issue are in progress, and the decision is unlikely to be made this week. Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó said that the government would not back sanctions on Russian natural gas and oil supplies,which endanger the country’s energy security. Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted that oil prices could reach $300 per barrel. Earlier, the US and the UK banned oil imports from Russia despite the fact that these countries received insignificant oil volumes.
