Washington: The western allies have announced that they are putting curbs on oil and gas imports from Russia or are ending their dependency on it in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, BBC reported on Wednesday.
The US and UK are imposing a ban Russian oil and the EU has decided to end its reliance on Russian gas, as part of the stepping up the economic pressure on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine.
According to US President Joe Biden this move targets “the main artery of Russia’s economy” as energy exports have been the vital source of revenue for Russia.
Russia’s economy is heavily dependent on energy, as it is the world’s third-biggest oil producer, behind Saudi Arabia and the US. However, the move will have a more severe impact on Western consumers.
Earlier, Russia had warned of “catastrophic” consequences for the global economy and said it might close its main gas pipeline to Germany. Meanwhile major western brands have continued to pull out of Russia, with McDonald’s and Coca-Cola being the latest to leave.
