Estonian President Alar Karis has spoken in favor of a full trade embargo against Russia by the European Union.
Karis visited Vilnius on Sunday 9 February together with the presidents of the European Commission, Latvia and Poland on the occasion of the synchronization of the Baltic States’ energy systems with continental Europe. There, he spoke of the need of further boosting EU independence vis-a-vis Russian energy influence.
”European Union should boost independence even further & end all Russian energy imports to the EU. We should even seriously consider a full trade embargo on Russia,” he said on X.
Dan Jorgensen, the European Commission member responsible for energy and housing, said the Russo-Ukrainian War showed that European countries must be fully independent of Russia in the energy sector.
On Saturday 8 February, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia successfully disconnected from the Russian power grid (OES/UPS), which has been in operation since Soviet times, and began operating in isolated mode, and on Sunday 9 February they connected to the Western European power grids.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called it a “momentous day,” while his predecessor in office, now the EU’s chief diplomat, Kaja Kallas, called it a “victory for freedom and European unity.”
Related:
- Estonia plans to guard energy sites during break from Russian grid
- Lithuania promises to disconnect Baltic States from Russian power grid by 8 February, switching to EU supplies
- “Not if, but when”: NATO prepares for Russian attack on Finland, Baltics and Norway
- NATO won’t intercept Russian missiles over Ukraine, Polish army chief reiterates
- Three EU states terminate Russia’s final energy leverage in Baltic region