Putin Says Russia Will Not Mothball Oil Wells Despite West’s Import Ban

Putin Says Russia Will Not Mothball Oil Wells Despite West’s Import Ban
Petrol trucks are parked near oil tanks at Volodarskaya LPDS production facility owned by Transneft oil pipeline operator in the village of Konstantinovo in the Moscow region, Russia, on June 8, 2022. Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
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Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russian companies will not block off their oil wells despite the West’s efforts to lessen its dependence on energy supplies from Moscow.

The United States introduced its embargo on Russian imports in March just days after Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine, while the European Union agreed last month in principle to gradually cut 90 percent of its oil imports from Russia by the end of this year.