(Bloomberg) -- Italy is ready to support a third European Union package of sanctions that would expand the list of targeted banks and billionaires in a bid to pressure Russia into a cease-fire, according to Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio.
The EU “is ready to face” the economic impact those steps could have on its economies, Di Maio said Tuesday in an interview with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television.
The bloc won't give in to “Russia's blackmail” on energy, he added, referring to a threat by Russia to cut natural gas supplies to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as part of its response to sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.
Italy is seeking to lower its dependence from Russian gas imports, which account for more than 40% of the total imports.
In the days following Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Di Maio traveled to Algeria and Qatar with the chief executive officer of Eni SpA, Claudio Descalzi, in an attempt negotiate more supply from those countries. Di Maio is planning other trips to more countries, he said Tuesday.
Italy Plans to Diversify Energy Supply to Cut Reliance on Russia
“We should diversify our energy sources benchmarking our demand during winter months,” he said. “Our infrastructure is resilient -- we have pipelines with Algeria, Libya, Azerbaijan and re-gasification sites.”
Along with boosting imports from those countries, Mario Draghi's government is working to double the capacity of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline in the Adriatic Sea, expand import capacity for liquefied natural gas and drive up the use of renewables.
The EU is set to propose a new round of sanctions that would target a total of 14 individuals, including a number of wealthy Russians and their family members, but will stop short of more far-reaching steps like penalizing ports, according to several diplomats.
EU ministers have also been discussing broadening sanctions to include restrictions on oil and petroleum product imports, but several nations, including Germany, have opposed such moves, Bloomberg reported citing people familiar with the discussions.
“Not only won't we be putting a veto on new sanctions, but we're open to all proposals of new sanctions packages that the European Commission brings forward,” Di Maio said, welcoming the use of a joint bonds issue in order to shield companies and consumers from any retaliation from Russia that might follow.
EU to Consider More Joint Bond Sales to Fund Energy, Defense
Sanctions already approved are proving effective by crippling Russia's economy, and a new package will further pressure Russia into a real negotiation, which has not taken place yet due to a lack of trust between the two sides, according to Di Maio.
The solution won't be Ukraine's surrender.
“If a country has a legitimate desire to join an international organization, another country won't stop that ambition just because it has more tanks,” Di Maio said.
Italy's priority is a humanitarian ceasefire and then a full peace deal, and this is the reason it continues to oppose a no-fly zone.
“We have a global war to avoid,” Di Maio said.
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