German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has said the European Union will likely “reach a breakthrough” on a ban on Russian oil imports “within days”, writes DW.

Many EU member states are heavily reliant on Russian energy. The 27-member bloc had failed to reach a consensus on the embargo, mainly because of objection from Hungary.

Still, Habeck stressed that an oil embargo “does not automatically lead” to Russian President Vladimir Putin being weakened. He went on to say that when Washington announced an embargo on Russian oil, prices soared worldwide and, therefore, Putin had “sold less oil and had more revenue in recent weeks”.

The German minister said the EU and the US were working in parallel on a proposal to cap global oil prices, though he cautioned this could only work if most of the world joined in.