The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, considered this Saturday the limitation of the price of a barrel of Russian oil to 60 dollars insufficient, considering that it is not a “serious decision”, and Kiev suggested a price twice as low.
On Friday, the European Union (EU), the G7 (the seven richest economies in the world) and Australia agreed to the imposition of this maximum ceiling, immediately indicating Russia that “will not accept” this limitation, which should be applied. in the coming days to limit Moscow’s financial means after the military invasion of Ukraine.
The price of a barrel of Russian oil is currently hovering around 65 dollars, slightly above the ceiling approved by the Westerners, which will have a limited impact in the short term.
However, and at the beginning of this morning, kyiv was happy with the application of this sanctioning mechanism and heralded the destruction of the Russian economy under the weight of international sanctions.
“It was necessary to download [o preço máximo] at 30 dollars to destroy [a economia russa] even faster,” said Andrii Iermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency.
But by early afternoon, Zelensky had taken a substantially more critical stance toward Westerners.
“It is not a serious decision to set such a limit for Russian prices, and that is in fact comfortable for the budget of the terrorist state,” he was quoted as saying by the presidential services.
“Russia has already caused colossal losses to all countries of the world by deliberately destabilizing the energy market. And the world cannot risk ”a“ real energy disarmament of Moscow ”, she lamented. “It’s a weak position,” she added.
The maximum text for the price of a barrel of Russian crude oil was criticized by kyiv and rejected by Moscow.
“We will not accept this limitation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told the media, quoted by Russian agencies, while Moscow has already warned that it will stop supplying oil to countries that adopt this measure.
In this first reaction from Moscow, Peskov also stated that Russia “prepared in advance for a similar limitation”, without elaborating.
On Friday, the 27 countries of the European Union, the G7 and Australia reached an agreement on “a maximum price of US$60 [cerca de 57 euros] for crude oil of Russian origin transported by sea,” according to a joint statement.
The mechanism will come into force on Monday “or soon after,” the G7 and Australia said. On the same day, the EU embargo on Russian seaborne oil will begin, eliminating two-thirds of Russia’s crude purchases.
In this way, only oil sold by Moscow at a price equal to or less than US$60 can continue to be delivered. Beyond this limit, companies are prohibited from providing services that ensure maritime transport (cargo and insurance, among others).
Germany and Poland also decided to halt deliveries via pipeline until the end of 2022, which the Europeans say will also contribute to total Russian imports being affected by more than 90 percent.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.8 million to European countries-, according to the most recent data. of the UN, which catalogs this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the wider international community, which has responded by sending arms to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia in political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 6,655 dead civilians and 10,368 wounded, stressing that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
