ZCZC
BCN-36
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-OIL-TRADE
Russia says to limit oil exports to Ukraine
MOSCOW, April 18, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Russia announced Thursday it would ban
some oil exports to Ukraine and limit coal exports from June, in an
announcement made just days before a run-off vote will determine the next
Ukrainian president.
At a government meeting, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the
measure was taken in response of a recent decision by Ukraine to ban imports
of several Russian-made products.
“A ban is being brought in on exporting Russian oil and oil products to
Ukraine,” Medvedev said.
A decree published on the government website said a range of oil products
would be banned from export from Russia to Ukraine from June 1 this year.
The scope of the economic impact of the decision by energy-rich Russia was
not immediately clear.
The decree also imposed additional restrictions from July on Russian
exports to Ukraine of coal, diesel and some types of gases including propane
and butane.
The same decree announced a ban on imports to Russia of “Ukrainian
automotive products, light industry (and) metalworking production,” which
last year were jointly worth $250 million, Medvedev said.
The announcement comes days before Ukraine is set to vote in the second
round of the presidential election, in which newcomer Volodymyr Zelensky is
expected to triumph over incumbent Petro Poroshenko.
Relations with Moscow are a highly sensitive topic in Ukraine, which has
battled a pro-Russian insurgency in its eastern regions since 2014.
BSS/AFP/SR/2010 HRS