EU envoys agree on more Russia sanctions. LNG imports are among the targets.

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union envoys have reached agreement on a “powerful and substantial” new series of sanctions that are part of its ongoing response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU’s Belgian presidency posted on social media on Thursday that the package provides new targeted measures and maximizes the impact of existing sanctions by closing loopholes. The measures will notably target imports of Russian liquid natural gas and make it harder to move around. The EU estimates that about 4 billion-6 billion cubic meters (141 billion-212 billion cubic feet) of Russian LNG was shipped on to third countries via EU ports last year. Details about the sanctions are likely to be released early next week if EU foreign ministers endorse them as expected on Monday.