Belgium to Push for EU Ban on New Contracts for Russian Uranium - Minister

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Belgium will seek an EU-wide ban on new contracts for imports of uranium sourced from Russia, Belgian Energy Minister Tinne Van der Straeten said.

"Belgium will argue at the European level that only existing contracts for uranium of Russian origin should be executed to produce nuclear fuel rods and that no new contracts should be reached, unless this compromises energy supply," Van der Straeten wrote on social media.

The Belgian government also wants the European Union to gradually ban transshipment of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) through EU ports as part of the next package of sanctions against Russia, but only provided that this does not affect the security of supply or distort competition across the bloc, the minister added.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that Russia would continue to look for ways around illegal restrictions imposed on it by rivals. He said that the European industry sector would likely pay the price for further curbs on Russian LNG supplies.