Washington has no desire to lower the price ceiling for Russian oil – WSJ
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According to media reports, US President Joe Biden told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Washington has no desire to change oil sanctions.
Source: The Wall Street Journal citing sources
Details: The G7 countries want to keep the upper limit of the price of Russian oil at the level of 60 dollars per barrel.
The publication notes that this dispels hopes in some European capitals for the strengthening of Western sanctions this month.
The material notes: representatives of the European Commission warned the member countries of the bloc about the position of the “Big Seven”, saying that Biden told Ursula von der Leyen last week that Washington had no desire to change the oil sanctions.
WSJ, meanwhile, clarifies that the press secretary of the US National Security Council declined to comment.
The position of the “Big Seven” could cause new tension in the EU over the price cap scheme.
In March, Western officials agreed to revise the oil price ceiling to $60 a barrel, while Poland and the Baltic states have repeatedly pushed for it to be below $60 a barrel. Ukrainian government officials support lowering the upper limit, hoping for a further reduction in Russia’s income from oil sales.
U.S. Treasury officials who developed the price cap plan said the current price cap system is largely working as intended. They argue that the plan is already achieving its two goals: keeping Russian oil available on world markets while reducing the Kremlin’s revenue from its sales.
We will remind: According to the official data of the Russian government, oil and gas revenues of the Russian budget for January-February 2023 amounted to 947 billion rubles, a decrease of 46% compared to the same period in 2022.
Representatives of the Ministry of Finance stated that, if necessary, they will change the upper limit in order to better achieve their goals. American government officials are trying not to take steps that could jeopardize the supply of Russian oil and, therefore, push world prices up.
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