The Estonian authorities announced Thursday that they have banned the import of petroleum products from Russia, a measure that will come into force on December 5.
The country’s foreign minister, Urmas Reinsalu, said at a press conference that the measure has been taken in advance in the framework of the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, according to information from the newspaper ‘Ohtuleht’.
The EU sanctions stipulate that imports of oil derivatives produced from bituminous minerals will be restricted as of December 5, but allow imports of other products to continue until February 5.
«The Government has today approved a decree banning the import of (…) certain petroleum products from Russia as a national sanction, and it will come into force on December 5. If we look at the volumes, we will see that since the beginning of the year we transported more than half a million tons of Russian oil products,» Reinsalu said.