Patriarch Kirill of Moscow was exempted from the EU sanctions against Russia
Without the Russian Patriarch Kirill, the 6th package of sanctions against Russia was adopted today by the Permanent Representatives of the EU member states meeting in Luxembourg.
According to an announcement by the French EU Presidency, the 6th package of sanctions will be adopted by the Council by written procedure and published tomorrow in the Official Journal of the EU.
According to European diplomatic sources who spoke in ANA-MPA, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is not on the blacklist of sanctions, following Hungary’s refusal.
With the adoption of the 6th package of sanctions, the ban on oil imports from Russia by sea is also approved. Combined with the decisions of Germany and Poland, this embargo will reduce Russian oil imports to the EU by 92% by the end of 2022, the French Presidency of the EU pointed out. ‘When possible, a ban on imports of Russian oil will be added, via pipelines,’ the French Presidency said.
It should be reminded that during the closed-door meeting that took place on Wednesday, Hungary requested that Patriarch Kirill, long considered an ally of President Vladimir Putin and one of the main supporters of the Russian military offensive against Ukraine, should be removed from the list of persons subject to sanctions.
Source: orthodoxtimes.com