The European Commission did not propose a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas in its latest package of sanctions because member states raised concerns about first securing alternatives including from the United States,

Aluminum rose in London as the European Union readied a proposal to gradually ban imports of the metal from Russia.

Russia exported a record volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to calculations by RBC based on data from the analytics firm Kpler. The country shipped 33.6 million tons abroad last year, an increase of four percent from 2023 and two percent more than in 2022,

Energy ministers from Belgium, France and Spain, whose ports receive shipments from Russian LNG tankers, have insisted that very little of the gas arriving is used domestically and that most is piped on to other EU countries. In November, Germany ordered its state-operated import terminals to reject any Russian LNG cargoes.

The European Union is considering a ban on Russian aluminum imports, along with other sanctions, but faces growing opposition from some member states.

Instead, the proposal will halt the supply of Russian LNG to EU terminals not connected to the bloc's gas system, which will not significantly impact the majority of LNG imports. The sanctions will also target Russian oil tankers within the so-called "shadow fleet,

The EU countries are still agreeing on the specific details of what will be included in the 16th package of sanctions against Russia, and the work on it is expected to be completed in February. Source: Kaja Kallas,