EU, G7, Australia reach deal on price caps for Russian fuel

BRUSSELS, Feb 4 — European Union member states, the Group of Seven industrialised countries and Australia explained yesterday that they have arrived at an settlement on price caps for Russian petroleum items.

The go is the most recent portion of an intercontinental drive to restrict Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest for his assault on Ukraine by targeting his key exports.

The caps entail two price tag stages, US$100 (RM425.8) for each barrel for additional high priced fuel like diesel and US$45 on reduce-quality merchandise this sort of as gas oil, according to officers.

Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency, identified as it an “important agreement as portion of the continued reaction by EU and companions to the Russian war of aggression in opposition to Ukraine.”

The EU in December imposed an embargo on Russian crude oil coming in by sea and — alongside one another with its G7 companions — established a US$60-dollar-for each-barrel cap for exports about the planet.

The second embargo, on Russian gas, is established to arrive into force on Sunday or shortly soon after. It targets Russian refined oil goods these as petrol, diesel and heating gasoline, arriving on ships.

At the identical time, the EU and the G7 group of wealthy democracies have also agreed to impose a cost cap on Russian shipments of people products to global marketplaces.

The G7 and Australia assertion included that the value cap coalition will undertake a evaluation of the crude oil cap in March.

The cost caps on all those transported items get the job done by setting up a ceiling for the price tag of gas that can be transported on ships.

The price tag caps agreed were in line with a proposal from the European Fee, the EU’s govt arm.

It experienced to harmony tricky requires from sanction hawks, these kinds of as Poland and Baltic nations, against the have to have to make sure the West does not cut off Russian materials to world marketplaces fully, which would send out world selling prices soaring.

EU diplomats known as the agreed price tag concentrations “well-balanced” and hitting the intention to “reduce Russia’s money while guaranteeing obtain for third countries.”

In a separate statement, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen applauded the most up-to-date decision and reported it built on earlier initiatives.

“The caps we have just established will now serve a important purpose in our world coalition’s get the job done… we are forcing Putin to select amongst funding his brutal war or propping up his battling economic system,” she extra.

Kremlin warns of sector ‘imbalance’

The Kremlin lashed out at the EU forward of the embargo coming into force, insisting it will “lead to a more imbalance of the global power markets”.

“We are having measures to hedge our pursuits versus the challenges involved,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov instructed reporters.

Moscow’s war in Ukraine has delivered a harsh wake-up contact for the EU, which for decades had been reliant on low-priced fossil fuels from Russia to electric power its industries.

Brussels suggests the embargo on crude oil has witnessed the bloc minimize out some 90 for every cent of Russian imports, right after exceptions ended up granted for provides flowing by pipeline to landlocked nations around the world like Hungary.

European Fee president Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday approximated all through a stop by to Kyiv that the existing selling price cap on Russian oil was currently costing Moscow close to 160 million euros (US$175 million) just about every working day.

Yesterday, she claimed the bloc was readying a new round of sanctions from Russia — its 10th bundle because the war started off a 12 months in the past.

“We have to keep on to deprive Russia of the usually means to wage war from Ukraine,” she reported, also highlighting the EU’s import ban on Russian petroleum products and solutions from Sunday.

“With the G7 we are placing selling price caps on these merchandise, reducing Russia’s revenue even though guaranteeing secure worldwide strength marketplaces,” she mentioned. — AFP