EUROPEAN UNION chief Ursula von der Leyen has performed a U-turn over a ban on Russian oil, saying that it would be wiser to continue imports.

In an interview broadcast on United States news channel MSNBC on Saturday, she said the EU would do more damage to Russia by continuing to buy Russian oil than via an embargo. 

“What we also always have to do is find the right balance between not hurting our economy too much, because this is the strongest leverage we have against this Russian aggression, [President Vladimir] Putin’s aggression,” she said.