The Kremlin has rejected a cap on the price of Russian oil imposed by Western countries that support Ukraine and threatened on Saturday to cut off supplies to countries that support the move.
Australia, Canada, the United States, Britain, Japan and the 27-nation European Union agreed on Friday to set a maximum price of $60 a barrel for the Russian oil they buy. The price cap was set to take effect on Monday, along with an EU embargo on Russian seaborne oil.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia needs to analyze the situation before deciding on a specific response, but said it will not accept the price cap. Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, warned that European governments that accept the cap will regret their decision.
“From this year Europe will live without Russian oil,” Ulyanov tweeted. “Moscow has already made it clear that it will not supply oil to countries that support price caps, which go against the market. Wait, very soon the EU will accuse Russia of using oil as a weapon.”
Meanwhile, the office of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, requested on Saturday that an even lower price limit be applied, considering the one adopted by the EU and the Group of Seven, which brings together the main Western economies, insufficient.
“It would be necessary to lower it to $30 to destroy the enemy’s economy faster,” Andriy Yermak, head of office for the Ukrainian presidency, wrote on Telegram, a position also supported by Poland, one of the main critics of Russian President Vladimir’s war. Putin in Ukraine.
Under Friday’s deals, insurers and other firms needed to transport oil will only be able to deal with Russian crude if the price is at or below the top. Most of the insurers are located in the EU and UK, and could be forced to abide by the limit.