The European Union cut down Russian oil imports by 90% before the end of 2022, “radically reducing” energy dependence on Russia, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine Matti Maasikas told Ukrinform. He added that this move had deprived Moscow of “corresponding revenues.”
According to Maasikas, Russia can sell its oil to other markets, but the revenue from such sales is limited as Russia is forced to make a significant discount on each barrel. “Russian oil sells for about $30 less than the world average,” said Maasikas in an interview with the Ukrainian publication.
On Dec. 5, G7 and the EU started implementing the $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil in order to limit the Kremlin’s ability to fund its war against Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said, though, that such a price cap was comfortable for Russia’s budget, asking for a $30 per barrel cap instead.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin on Dec. 27 signed a decree to ban oil and oil product exports to countries complying with the West’s price cap on Russian crude.
Since the EU, the UK, and the US have already banned the imports of Russian seaborne crude, the price cap mostly applies to other countries that still buy Russian oil.
Insurers for the oil market, which are mostly based in the West, are banned from dealing with Russian oil priced above the cap. The EU will also start implementing an embargo on Russian oil products starting from Feb. 5.
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