The G7 will “urgently” apply a price cap on russian oil and calls for a “broad coalition” of countries to participate in the measure, according to a statement published this Friday by the group.
“The price limit will be set at a level based on a series of technical data and will be decided by the entire coalition before it is applied,” the seven industrialized countries wrote in the statement, assuring that prices would be communicated later “publicly in clear and transparent way.
The decision was finalized at a videoconference summit of the economy ministers of the seven most industrialized countries in the world (the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan).
“Russia is benefiting economically from the uncertainties of the war on energy marketsGerman Economy Minister Christian Lindner told reporters after the meeting.
It is making huge profits from the export of raw materials, such as oil, and we want to resolutely oppose it,” he added.
“The price cap is specifically designed to reduce Russia’s income and its ability to finance its aggressive war, while limiting the impact of Russia’s war on the world,” in particular “low-income countries,” the G7 said in its statement.
Specifically, Russia would sell its oil to these countries at a price lower than the current price, but still higher than the production price, so that it would have an economic interest in continuing to sell them, and thus not cut off their supplies.
The challenge is to get as many countries on board as possible, as the price cap will only work if major buyers participate, experts stress, particularly China and India.
