Moscow indicates reaction
Kremlin will ‘not accept’ oil price cap
12/3/2022, 4:46 p.m
The EU, G7 and Australia are getting serious and agreeing on an upper limit for Russian oil transported by ship. The Kremlin wants to ignore the decision, but remains vague when announcing a reaction.
The Kremlin has again sharply criticized the price cap for Russian oil in the G7 countries, the European Union and Australia, but is keeping concrete steps open in an initial reaction. “We will not accept this price cap,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, according to Russian news agencies. He added that Moscow had prepared in advance for such a cap, but gave no further details.
The EU, the G7 and Australia agreed on Friday on a cap of 60 dollars (57 euros) per barrel for Russian oil transported by ship. The price limit is to be enforced by the fact that insurance companies and shipping companies are only allowed to participate in Russian oil deals if the raw material is sold for less than 60 dollars. The price cap could limit Moscow’s ability to fund its offensive in Ukraine.
Russia has already indicated a delivery boycott for countries participating in a price cap. According to a diplomatic representative, Russia is serious about threatening to stop oil supplies to Europe. “From this year Europe will live without Russian oil,” Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov told Telegram.
Kremlin: Putin will visit Donbass
The Russian embassy in the United States had previously described the price cap as dangerous. This would only fuel uncertainty and drive up raw material costs, the agency wrote on Telegram. But Russian oil will still be in demand.
Meanwhile, Ukraine described the agreed price cap for Russian oil as too high. In order to “destroy” the economy of the Russian enemy more quickly, it is necessary to reduce the price to $30, said the head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office Andriy Yermak on his Telegram channel. At the same time, however, he welcomed the upper price limit.
When asked about a possible visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Donbass in eastern Ukraine, Peskov said the head of state would make a trip there “in due course”. “It’s a region of Russia,” the Kremlin spokesman said. So far, Putin has not traveled to the area he declared annexed at the end of September, although his army does not control it fully.