Moscow, December 1
Russia on Thursday said it was not bothered at a possible price cap on its crude oil proposed by the West, saying Moscow will negotiate directly with its partners like India and China as the price should be decided between the producers and consumers, and “not someone who just decided to punish someone.” Members of the G7 have agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to hit Moscow’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine. Countries want to reach an agreement ahead of December 5, when Europe’s embargo on Russian crude travelling by sea takes effect.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a press conference on European security issues that Moscow was not bothered about the price cap set to be imposed by the West on its oil exports.
“We are not interested in what the price cap will be, we will negotiate with our partners directly, and the partners who continue to work with us will not look at these caps and will not give any guarantees to those who illegally introduce them,” he was quoted as saying by the state-run Tass news agency.
Lavrov stressed that there is always a balance of interests in negotiations with India, China, Turkey, and other major buyers of Russian energy resources in terms of timing, volumes, and prices.
“It should be decided on a mutual basis between producers and consumers, and not someone who just decided to punish someone,” the Russian foreign minister said.
The introduction of a price cap on Russian oil will mean that countries that agree to the policy will only be permitted to purchase Russian oil and petroleum products transported via sea that are sold at or below the price cap.
Lavrov added that the attempts to set a cap on oil prices send a signal to all states about the need to move away from the instruments imposed by the West.
“This is certainly an interesting development of events, which, among other things, sends a very powerful long-term signal to all states without exception … to consider abandoning the mechanisms imposed by the West within its globalisation systems,” he said.
Official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said earlier that the introduction of a mechanism to limit prices for Russian oil could greatly complicate the situation on global markets and would have devastating consequences for everyone.
“We have repeatedly said that such measures — the so-called cap on Russian oil prices – are not just a non-market mechanism, this is an anti-market measure that destroys supply chains and can significantly complicate the situation on global energy markets,” she said.
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