Italy is highly dependent on Russian gas, importing 95% of the gas it consumes.
Rome:
Italy will “follow the European Union’s decisions” on new sanctions against Russia, including a possible gas embargo, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said on Wednesday.
“It is not being discussed at the moment, but the situation is constantly evolving,” he told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
Italy is heavily dependent on Russian gas, importing 95 percent of the gas it consumes, about 40 percent of which comes from Russia.
“Today, the gas embargo is not… on the table,” Draghi said.
The growing number of “massacres” in Ukraine “is prompting us to introduce even tougher sanctions,” he said.
“All the allied countries are wondering what can be done to stop Russia… We are following what the European Union decides.”
“If we are offered a gas embargo, we will follow the EU on this path, we want the most effective instrument to achieve peace,” he said.
He promised that “if the gas supplies stopped today, we would be covered with our reserves until the end of October, there would be no consequences”.
The former ECB chief also called for a cap on gas prices.
“I’ve been asking for a gas price cap for some time now, that would be the most rational thing on a collective, European level.”
“The EU has extraordinary power on the market, in fact it is the only buyer,” he said.
This power “can be exercised by fixing a price that is rewarding, but not extravagant like the price we have now.
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