Until the end, Poland threatened to derail the negotiations. It took hours of discussions with its community partners and above all friendly but firm pressure from the United States for this very Atlanticist country to lift its objections. On Friday, December 2, Warsaw finally gave its consent and allowed the Westerners – European Union (EU), G7 and Australia – to finalize the mechanism to cap Russian oil prices that they wanted to put in place. By committing not to buy Russian oil above 60 dollars a barrel, they want to limit Moscow’s income and prevent it, as much as possible, from financing its war against Ukraine.
It was time. Washington and its G7 allies wanted this mechanism to come into force on December 5, at the same time as the embargo on Russian oil decided by the EU, which follows that established by the United States, Canada, Japan or Australia and slightly precedes that of the United Kingdom. This ceiling is not intended to lighten their bill, since they have all decided to no longer buy black gold in Moscow. But it was thought to forbid, above this ceiling price, European, American, British, Canadian, Japanese and Australian companies to provide services allowing the maritime transport (freight, insurance, etc.) of Russian oil in countries which have not decided to deprive themselves of it, such as China or the ‘India.
Today, the G7 countries provide insurance services for 90% of global cargoes – the United Kingdom in particular is a major player in this market – and Greece, as well as Malta or Cyprus to a lesser extent, is dominant. on sea freight. As soon as these players can no longer transport or ensure the delivery of Russian oil above 60 euros, they de facto prevent their customers from buying it at a higher price.
A risky bet for the Greek and British economies
By deciding on a ceiling on the price of Russian oil, the West wants, in fact, to impose it on the rest of the world. And prevent Moscow from compensating for the loss of their markets by selling its black gold elsewhere. Anyway, that’s their calculation.
But it is not without risk. “Insurers or carriers could emerge elsewhere”, admits a diplomat. Not only would this empty the ceiling decided by the G7 and its allies of its substance, but it would also give rise to competition which could ultimately undermine one of the pillars of the Greek or British economies. This is why, within the EU, Greece, but also Cyprus and Malta have strongly campaigned for the ceiling on the price of Russian oil to be as close as possible to the market price.
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