(Reuters) – Russia “will not accept” a cap on the price of crude oil it exports and is considering how to respond to the decision by the European Union, G7 and Australia, the government said on Saturday. Kremlin, cited by Russian agencies.
Presidency spokesman Dmitry Peskov promised that Moscow’s response would be known soon, while Russia’s ambassador to international organizations based in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, assured that Europe should now “to live without Russian oil”.
The cap at 60 dollars for the barrel of Russian oil transported by sea should be ratified this weekend by the European Union, Poland – which wanted a lower price – having lifted its objections on Friday.
Under the mechanism proposed by the G7, shipping companies and insurance and re-insurance companies will only be able to take on shipments of Russian crude if its price does not exceed $60 per barrel, which will make it difficult to de facto any transaction at a higher price, even for third countries.
Urals crude was trading around $67 a barrel on Friday and global oil prices are likely to rise after EU sanctions on Russian oil took effect on Monday.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that in addition to reducing Russia’s main source of revenue for its continued war in Ukraine, this cap should benefit low- and middle-income countries that already have to bear the brunt of the food boom.
(Written by Caleb Davis and Mark Trevelyan, French version Tangi Salaün)
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