Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on September 17, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 21, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleThe Kremlin dismisses the EU's accelerated phase-out of Russian energy, asserting that sanctions won't alter Russia's stance.
MOSCOW (Reuters) -The European Union's plans to phase out Russian energy and commodities more quickly will not affect Russia and will not force it to change its position, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
The head of the EU's executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Tuesday after a call with U.S. President Donald Trump that the European Commission would propose a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuel imports.
"They (European countries) mistakenly believe that the continuation of the sanctions policy is capable of somehow influencing the position of the Russian Federation," Peskov told a daily conference call with reporters.
"Russia, which defends its national interests, is certainly not affected by these sanctions. And the last three years have eloquently demonstrated this," he added.
Russia's economy has shown resilience in the face of sanctions imposed by the West over the conflict in Ukraine, though it is also grappling with persistently high inflation and a rising budget deficit partly as a result of sharply increased military spending.
Despite the sanctions, the EU still imports billions of euros worth of Russian energy and commodities, ranging from liquefied natural gas to enriched uranium, though its imports of Russian oil and gas have plummeted.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov. Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin. Editing by Mark Potter and Gareth Jones)
The European Union plans to propose a faster phase-out of Russian fossil fuels.
The Kremlin believes that the EU's sanctions policy will not influence Russia's position and that Russia is defending its national interests.
Despite showing resilience against sanctions, Russia is grappling with high inflation and a rising budget deficit.
Yes, the EU continues to import billions of euros worth of Russian energy and commodities, despite the sanctions.
The last three years have shown that Russia is not significantly affected by the sanctions imposed by the West.
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