Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine
Russia oil price cap could be implemented in the coming days
(Clockwise from Top C) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, U.S. President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Council Charles Michel, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, sit around the table at the top of the G7 meeting in Carbis Bay, on June 11, 2021 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall.
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The G-7 countries and Australia reached a consensus to set the maximum price of seaborne Russian crude oil at $60 per barrel, according to a joint statement. The announcement followed the European Union’s agreement to cap the price of Russian oil at the same price.
“With this decision today, we deliver on the commitment of G-7 Leaders at their summit in Elmau to prevent Russia from profiting from its war of aggression against Ukraine, to support stability in global energy markets and to minimise negative economic spillovers of Russia’s war of aggression, especially on low- and middle-income countries, who have felt the impacts of Putin’s war disproportionately,” the announcement said.
The joint statement said the cap will be implemented on Dec. 5 “or very soon thereafter.” A separate plan for a price limit on Russian-origin petroleum products is expected to go into place on Feb. 5.
Maximum prices for high-value and low-value refined products will be announced separately.
—Chelsey Cox
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen praises G-7’s $60 price cap on Russian oil
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen speaks during the New York Times DealBook Summit in the Appel Room at the Jazz at Lincoln Center on November 30, 2022 in New York City.
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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen applauded the joint decision by the European Union, Australia and G-7 countries to cap the price of Russian seaborne oil at $60.
“Today’s announcement is the culmination of months of effort by our coalition, and I commend the hard work of our partners in achieving this outcome,” Yellen said in a statement.
The “Price Cap Coalition” of countries announced plans in September to limit the price of Russian oil to deny Russian President Vladimir Putin a funding source for his ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The cap is also designed to maintain the flow of oil on the market.
Yellen said the cap “will particularly benefit low- and medium-income countries who have already borne the brunt of elevated energy and food prices exacerbated by Putin’s war” and “enable them to bargain for steeper discounts on Russian oil and benefit from greater stability in global energy markets.”
Russia was earning more than $100 per barrel after the Ukraine invasion, according to a senior Treasury official.
“This is going to exacerbate Russia’s already poor economic and fiscal outlook,” the official told reporters….
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