US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen discussed with her German counterpart Christian Lindner the establishment of price restrictions on Russian oil and assistance to Ukraine. This is reported in the statement of the US Treasury, published on Tuesday.
“In addition, Minister Yellen highly appreciated the key role of Germany as chairman of the G7 in discussing the marginal prices for Russian oil and in the progress made in discussions at the technical level,” the report says.
As the ministry added, during the telephone conversation, Yellen also noted the “urgent need to respond to the short-term needs for economic assistance that Ukraine is experiencing.”
The embargo imposed by the European Union and the United States on purchases of Russian oil led to a sharp increase in prices, which allowed the Russian Federation to redirect large volumes of raw materials to other markets, primarily to India and China, and even increase revenues, although selling smaller volumes of oil at a discount. The EU and the US are suffering losses, including a secondary effect in the form of inflation. Against this background, following the results of the Group of Seven summit, a statement was adopted in which the leaders of the “seven” promised to consider the possibility of limiting prices for Russian oil by banning the provision of services for its transportation by sea if the cost of raw materials exceeds the ceiling agreed by international partners.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak earlier called such steps another attempt to interfere in market mechanisms, which, according to him, can only lead to market imbalance, energy shortages and price increases.
