Lithuania, Spain call for immediate EU embargo on Russian oil and gas

Sanctions against Russian oil and gas must be introduced immediately, reported from Interfax that Lithuanian and Spanish Foreign Ministers Gabrielius Landsbergis and Jose Manuel Albares said.

"The need to impose an embargo on Russian oil and gas has been discussed for several weeks. Here, our opinion, the positions of both Lithuania and Spain coincide, that this should be done immediately," Landsbergis said at a joint press conference with Albares in Vilnius following their talks.

"Spain is fully committed to protecting our values and protecting NATO's eastern flank, which is why we are actively participating in the Baltic air patrol operation with eight F-18 fighters stationed in Siauliai, which I will visit today," the Spanish foreign minister said.

"We both agree that we must maintain pressure on Russia, the sanctions imposed by the international community are already affecting the Russian economy," he said.

Answering a question about whether he believes that the European Union will soon adopt a package of sanctions against Russian oil, the Spanish foreign minister said that his country intends to support it.

According to Landsbergis, the meeting with Albares focused on two issues - assistance to Ukraine and the need to strengthen the security of the region and NATO as a whole.

Spain will host the NATO summit in June.

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