EU's embargo on coal imports from Russia to take effect in Aug 2022 - document

BRUSSELS. April 8 (Interfax) - An embargo on coal imports from Russia to the European Union under the fifth sanction package on Russia will take effect in August 2022, the Council of the EU said in a statement on Friday.

"The package comprises [...] a prohibition to purchase, import or transfer coal and other solid fossil fuels into the EU if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia, as from August 2022," it said.

The annual volume of coal imports into the EU from Russia is currently worth 8 billion euros, it said.

Russia will be selling coal to other markets amid the coal embargo imposed by the European Union, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

"Indeed, coal remains in rather high demand. As Europe stops using it, coal shipments [...] will be rerouted to alternate markets," Peskov said at a press conference on Friday in response to a request for comment on the EU ban on Russian coal imports.