UK urges G7 to ban Russian ships and set timetable for oil and gas exit

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba give a press statement at the British Embassy in Warsaw on Monday. (AP)

• Britain and international allies have already sanctioned Russian banks and wealthy elites
• Truss said existing sanctions had frozen $350 billion of Russian money

WARSAW: Britain will urge G7 nations on Tuesday to ban Russian ships from their ports, agree a timetable to phase out oil and gas imports from Russia, and further tighten sanctions on banks and key industries.
Speaking in Poland ahead of a meeting of G7 foreign ministers later this week, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss is expected to say:
“On Thursday, I will be urging our G7 partners to go further by joining us in banning Russian ships from our ports, cracking down on Russian banks, going after new industries filling Putin’s war chest like gold, and agreeing a clear timetable to eliminate our imports of Russian oil and gas.”
In response to the invasion of Ukraine, Britain and international allies have already sanctioned Russian banks and wealthy elites and taken steps to cut Moscow off from the international financial system.
Russian ships have already been banned from British ports.
Truss said existing sanctions had frozen $350 billion of Russian money and made over 60 percent of its foreign currency reserves unavailable.
“Our coordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back into the Soviet era,” Truss was due to say, according to advance extracts released by her office.
Speaking alongside Polish foreign minister Zbigniew Rau, Truss was due to say the two countries had agreed to step up sanctions and the supply of weapons to Ukraine. Britain did not immediately provide further details.