London: Russia has close economic ties with the UK and the rest of the European Union so any trade and financial sanctions are likely to hurt both sides, the BBC reported. The EU ranks as Russia’s number one trading partner, accounting for almost 41% of all trade.
Trade between the two economies has grown steadily and had reached record levels in 2012. EU exports to Russia are dominated by machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, medicines and agricultural products. While imports to the EU from Russia are dominated by crude oil and gas.
According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), European countries import 84% of Russia's oil exports, and about 76% of its natural gas. Germany is the single biggest importer of Russian oil and gas, while the UK buys about 6% of Russia's gas. The US is also an important trading partner for Russia.
