The UK will look to the Gulf for increased oil supplies after the government announced it would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022 in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
"The UK is a significant producer of oil and oil products, plus we hold significant reserves," Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said.
"Beyond Russia, the vast majority of our imports come from reliable partners such as the US, Netherlands and the Gulf. We’ll work with them this year to secure further supplies."
He said the “transition will give the market, businesses and supply chains more than enough time to replace Russian imports,” which account for eight per cent of UK demand.
“While the UK is not dependent on Russian natural gas – 4 per cent of our supply – I am exploring options to end this altogether,” he said.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the move as an important “first step”.
“What we’re doing is making the first step and it’s something I think is an important thing to do.
“If you think back to where we were even a few days ago, I don’t think people would’ve been talking about moving away from dependence on Russian oil and gas because these are very, very big dependencies that European countries have.”
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Mr Kwarteng said the government would work with firms to find more oil supplies.
“Businesses should use this year to ensure a smooth transition so that consumers will not be affected,” he said.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks past the vertical tail fin of a Russian Su-34 bomber lying in a damaged building in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo
An apartment building damaged after shelling in Kharkiv, Ukraine. AP Photo
A woman puts her head in her hands as she sits on a cot in a shelter, set up for displaced persons fleeing Ukraine, inside a school gymnasium in Przemysl, Poland. AP Photo
Belarussian and suspected Russian helicopters on the flight line at Machulishchy Air Base outside Minsk, Belarus. AP Photo
Children look on as people fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine shelter in a school, in Drohobych, Ukraine. Reuters
Families eat in the shelter. Reuters
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A wounded Ukrainian man waits in the corridor of the central hospital of Mykolaiv. AFP
An elderly woman is carried in a shopping cart after being rescued from Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. AP
A woman reacts as a train carrying children from Kyiv's Central Children's Hospital leaves the Ukrainian capital on its way to Lviv. Reuters
A girl sits in an improvised bomb shelter in Mariupol, Ukraine. AP
An elderly woman is coated in snow as she sits in a wheelchair after being rescued from Irpin. AP
Belarusian volunteers take part in military exercises at the Belarusian Company base in Kyiv. AP
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Ukrainians pass a damaged bridge as they flee from Irpin. AP
A man carries an elderly woman as people continue to leave Irpin. AP
A soldier stands on a barricade made of sandbags in central Odesa, Ukraine. Reuters
A charred Russian tank and captured tanks in the Sumy region. Reuters
People rest at a temporary shelter for Ukrainian refugees in Przemysl, Poland. AFP
Ukraine's ambassador to the Netherlands, Maksym Kononenko, third right, and his wife Tetiana Doroshenko, fourth left, attend a meeting of members of the Ukrainian community with Dutch King Willem-Alexander, third left, and Queen Maxima, second left, to discuss the situation in Ukraine, in The Hague. EPA
A Ukrainian soldier looks at the destruction after shelling in Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv. AFP
A refugee holds her dog as they wait for trains to Poland in Lviv, Ukraine. Reuters
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A Ukrainian soldier carries an elderly woman crossing the Irpin river on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP
Lena, who had never left Ukraine before fleeing into Moldova, feeds Dasha, 3, soon after crossing the border. Erin Clare Brown for The National
Refugees without immediate plans to move further inland can stay the night in tents set up on Moldova's side of the border. Erin Clare Brown for The National
Tatiana and her son wait for a van that will carry them from the Moldovan border to Chisinau. Erin Clare Brown for The National
Each night, the Palanca refugee camp in Moldova feeds up to 300 people who arrive with no onward plans. Erin Clare Brown for The National
People pass a damaged bridge while fleeing the town of Irpin, close to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. AP
A Ukrainian soldier stands guard next to a church in Irpin. EPA
A firefighter holds the baby of a Ukrainian refugee at the border in Romania. AP
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks in Kyiv. Reuters
A Ukrainian soldier at a checkpoint in Kyiv. AP
Ukrainian activist Ihor Mazur, left, a veteran of the war in the country's east, looks at a night-vision device in Kyiv. AP
Ambassadors attend a UN Security Council meeting on threats to international security after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in New York. Reuters
Ukraine's UN ambassador Sergey Kyslytsya holds a paper with an image of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as he addresses the Security Council in New York. Reuters
A road sign put up in support of Mr Zelenskyy outside Russia's embassy in Washington. AFP
Ukrainian refugees at the train station in Lviv, western Ukraine. EPA
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Volunteers carry medical aid and necessities at a train station in Lviv. EPA
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A residential building damaged by Russian shelling in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters
A man walks past a checkpoint in heavy snow in Lviv. Getty
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Soldiers assist Irpin residents underneath a damaged bridge as they flee. Getty
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Parents and children struggle to board a train in Lviv. AP