According to CNBC sources, Russia is not likely to immediately impose an oil embargo upon the European Union for its unprovoked invasion in Ukraine.

The U.S. has decided to stop imports earlier in the month. However, international allies have not yet done so due to their dependence upon Russian energy. According to The, Russian oil imports made up about 25% of EU oil purchases in 2020. region’s statistics office.

Prices fell on Tuesday morning due to the EU’s unwillingness to take action against Russian crude oil. Brent futuresEarly trading hour prices dropped by 0.6% to $114.96/barrel

Whereas Poland and the Baltic nations are among the most vocal supporters of restricting the purchases of Russian oil, other nations — notably Germany and Hungary — are concerned about what this step would mean for prices.

“Only a few countries are favorable to this idea.” [of an oil embargo),” an EU official, who didn’t want to be named due to the sensitivity of the talks, told CNBC Tuesday.

A second anonymous EU official said: “Discussions continue but no decision likely this week unless [Russian President Vladimir]Putin does even more bizarre things.”

This week’s European leaders are expected to gather in Brussels for a coordinated response. invasion of Ukraine. U.S. President Joe BidenMoreover, they will be present.

Recent U.S. attention has been drawn to the possibility of Russia using chemical weapons in Ukraine. Russia had accused Ukraine, in its own words, of running chemical and biological weapons labs that it was funding. Officials from the West and Ukraine strongly refuted this accusation. Furthermore, they believe that Moscow may have inventing a narrative or pretext to use their chemical weapons against Ukraine.

The first EU official was asked by a question about the reaction Russia’s use of chemical weapons in Europe to European countries. He replied, “Then everything would be on the table.”

According to the official, “If Russia begins using chemical weapons we would be in an entirely different situation.” He suggested that an oil ban might be one possibility.

As the conflict in Ukraine drags on, pressure continues to build for the bloc to act more against Moscow.

Simon Coveney from Ireland, the foreign affairs minister said that “it is extremely difficult, in my opinion, to make the case against us moving into the energy industry, particularly oil, and coal.”

Tytti Tupurainen from Finland, the Minister for European Affairs said Tuesday, “So far, we haven’t agreed on sanctions when it involves energy. But it is not excluded.”

CNBC has seen a draft of the document. EU leaders expect to demand an international conference in order to increase funding for Ukraine. Soon, they will announce their intention to end EU dependence on Russian coal, oil and gas imports.