Status: 02.09.2022 2:47 p.m
The G7 are working on a price cap for Russian oil and EU Commission President von der Leyen is also bringing an upper limit into play for gas. If the plans are implemented, Moscow threatens to stop deliveries.
According to Russia, it no longer wants to sell oil to countries that introduce price caps for Russian energy. “Companies that impose price caps will not be among the recipients of Russian oil,” said Presidential Office spokesman Dmitry Peskov, confirming statements by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak the previous day.
The Russian leadership justifies its position with the fact that price caps would lead to a significant destabilization of the global oil market. According to Peskow, this can be said “with self-confidence”.
“Deal is likely”
However, the G7 group – Germany, France, Italy, Great Britain, the USA, Canada and Japan – is already working on such a price cap for Russian oil in order to limit Russian revenues. Consultations will be held throughout the day. “A deal is likely,” said a European G7 representative in advance of the news agency Reuters.
However, it is still unclear how many details the group of western democracies will give and whether the plans make any sense at all without the support of large emerging countries such as China and India.
The G7 will vote for an upper limit without yet setting the exact amount, as another G7 representative explained. After that, attempts will be made to find other partners for the project.
Although the volume of Russian oil exports has recently declined, revenues from them increased by $700 million in June compared to May. At the same time, according to the G7 plan, oil should continue to be traded and major price jumps should be avoided.
Is the price cap for gas coming?
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a “price cap for Russian pipeline gas to Europe”.
During a visit to the CDU/CSU retreat in Murnau, Bavaria, von der Leyen said: “I am firmly convinced that now is the time for a price cap on Russian pipeline gas to Europe.”
Because of the massive increase in energy prices, her authority wants to “optimize the functioning of the European electricity markets and reduce the impact of gas prices on consumer prices,” as the 23-page paper says. It serves as a template for an emergency meeting of EU energy ministers next Friday in Brussels.
In the event of such a price cap, Russia would stop gas supplies to Europe, said ex-President Dmitry Medvedev. “There simply won’t be any Russian gas in Europe,” the deputy chief of the Russian Security Council wrote in the messaging app Telegram.