EU edges towards oil sanctions on Russia, no deal yet | Al Jazeera

European Union governments moved closer to agreeing tough sanctions against Russia that include a ban on buying Russian oil, but scheduled more talks for Monday to work out how to ensure countries most dependent on Russian energy can cope.

Diplomats of the 27 EU countries have been meeting daily to discuss details of the sixth sanctions package targeting Moscow since the European Commission announced proposals for it on May 4.

“The Council (of EU governments) is united on the need to adopt a 6th sanctions package,” the French presidency of the EU and the Commission said in a statement. “Very significant progress has been made on most of the measures.”

The sticking point is how to secure oil supplies to landlocked Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, which all depend heavily on Russian crude delivered via Soviet-era pipelines and face a challenge to secure alternative sources.