Russia said it was taking steps to mitigate the impact of an EU oil embargo.
Its second major energy export, gas, drops since Putin dispatched troops to Ukraine.
“Sanctions will harm Europe, us, and the entire global energy market,” Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesman, told.
“These are deliberate, systematic steps that will allow us to minimize the bad impacts,” he said.
Peskov added that a “reorientation” was underway to identify replacements for the oil that will no longer be sold to Europe.
