The leftist coalition government of Germany has thrown its support behind the move for the European Union to impose an embargo on Russian oil, despite the country’s heavy reliance on energy imports from Moscow.

On Sunday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock revealed that Germany would back a ban on Russian oil from the bloc, however, she noted that such a move should be imposed gradually.

“And we are preparing this in such a way, that we could if necessary keep it up over the coming years,” Baerbock said per public broadcaster Deutsche Welle. She added that such sanctions on Russia should remain in place until Russia has fully withdrawn from Ukraine.

Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck said that it was “realistic” that Germany could completely end its reliance on Russian crude oil by the end of the summer.

Habeck claimed that Germany has so far cut its Russian energy imports down to 12 per cent for oil, 8 per cent for coal, and 35 per cent for natural gas.