The EU member states' governments have received a proposal from the European Commission to postpone the discussed ban on Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, Bloomberg reports citing sources.
"The European Union has proposed to ban the delivery of Russian oil by sea and to postpone the imposition of import restrictions on a key pipeline (Druzhba) to satisfy Hungary's objections and to negotiate on a stalled package of sanctions, the agency said.
This proposal is intended to solve the problems of landlocked European countries, including Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Sources note that the EU may gradually phase out Russian oil delivered by sea within eight months.
According to media reports, on Sunday the EU ambassadors will hold a meeting. A revised package of sanctions may be discussed there. Some EU members are in favour of reaching an agreement before the EU leaders' meeting scheduled for Monday.
For three weeks, the EU countries have been unable to reach a compromise on the sixth package of anti-Russian sanctions due to a special military operation in Ukraine. New restrictions may include a Russian oil embargo.
