Zelensky: Price cap on Russian oil ‘not serious’
President Zelensky says Russia will still earn from oil exports to fund its war on Ukraine
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President Zelensky says Russia will still earn from oil exports to fund its war on Ukraine
KYIV, Ukraine (AFP) — A $60 price cap set on Russian oil agreed by the European Union, G7 and Australia is not "serious" because it is "quite comfortable" for Moscow, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"The logic is obvious: If the price limit for Russian oil is $60 instead of, for example, $30, which Poland and the Baltic countries talked about, then the Russian budget will receive about a hundred billion dollars a year," he argued in his nightly address on Saturday, describing the decision on the price cap as "a weak position."
"This money will also be used to further destabilize precisely those countries that are now trying to avoid big decisions."
"Russia has already caused huge losses to all countries of the world by deliberately destabilizing the energy market," Zelensky added.
Meanwhile, major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia look set to maintain their current output levels at a meeting Sunday, ahead of fresh sanctions against Moscow coming into force.
The 13-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is due to consult with 10 other oil-producing nations, including Russia, to review their decision in October to cut production by two million barrels per day.
The OPEC+ videoconference will take place from 1100 GMT Sunday.
Since the group's last meeting in early October, Brent North Sea oil and its United States equivalent, WTI, have lost more than six percent of their value.
But speculation that a further OPEC+ production cut might still be on the table boosted prices throughout the week.
"OPEC+ might feel compelled to adopt a more aggressive stance" by cutting or threatening to cut production even further, UniCredit analyst Edoardo Campanella said.
"Russia might also retaliate by leveraging its influence within OPEC+ to push for more production cuts down the road, thus exacerbating the global energy crisis," he added.
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