Europe 1 with AFP 07:12, May 04, 2022

On the 70th day of the war in Ukraine, tensions are growing between Russia and the United Nations.

Russia is boycotting the meeting of the UN Security Council with the Political and Security Committee (PSC) of the European Union (EU) on Wednesday, while the EU prepares an embargo on oil and petroleum products purchased to Russia.

THE ESSENTIAL

This 70th day of the war in Ukraine is marked by diplomatic tensions between Russia and United Nations countries.

As the European Union (EU) implements an embargo on petroleum products purchased from Russia, a way of putting pressure on the country, Russia will be absent from the UN Security Council meeting with the Political Committee and Security (COPS) of the European Union.

The main information to remember: 

  •  The European Union puts in place an embargo against oil and petroleum products purchased from Russia

  • Russia will be absent from a meeting of the UN Security Council

Boycott of Russia at the UN

Russia will boycott - a rare move - a meeting of the UN Security Council with the European Union's Political and Security Committee (PSC) on Wednesday, illustrating a further deterioration in relations between Moscow and partners at the United Nations, according to diplomats.

According to a Russian diplomatic source speaking on condition of anonymity, Moscow's decision is linked to the situation in Ukraine.

A Western diplomat told AFP that he had no recollection of a Russian boycott of a Security Council meeting since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

This annual informal meeting between the Security Council and the PSC had not been held since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

On Wednesday, it should make it possible to address the interactions of the European Union with the UN in countries where the two organizations are carrying out operations, such as in Bosnia, the Central African Republic or Mali.

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 War in Ukraine: the European Union wants to set up an embargo on Russian oil

EU prepares oil embargo against Russia

A draft embargo on oil and petroleum products purchased from Russia was submitted overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday to EU member countries, but the measure still raises reservations, several officials told AFP. and European diplomats.

The European Commission on Tuesday finalized its proposal for a sixth sanctions package against Moscow to cut funding for its war effort against Ukraine.

It provides for a gradual cessation of European purchases over a period of six to eight months, until the end of 2022, with an exemption for Hungary and Slovakia.

These two countries, landlocked and totally dependent on deliveries by the Druzhba pipeline, will be able to continue their purchases from Russia in 2023, said a European official.