On Wednesday, representatives of the EU member states could not agree on the introduction of a price limit for Russian oil. They will continue consultations on Thursday.
Reuters writes about this with reference to its own sources.
The G7 countries proposed to set the price limit at the level of $65-$70 per barrel. But for some EU countries, such an offer was too high, and for others — too little.
In particular, Poland, Lithuania and Estonia believe that such a price limit is still too high and will allow the Russians to make significant profits when the cost of oil production is only $20.
However, Cyprus, Greece and Malta, which stand to lose the most money from such an idea, consider the price limit too low and demand compensation or more time to prepare for such a decision.
The idea behind the price cap is to prevent shipping, insurance and reinsurance companies from handling cargoes of Russian oil if it sells for more than the price set by the G7 and its allies.
Since the worldʼs key shipping and insurance companies that trade crude oil are based in the G7 countries, such a price cap would make it difficult for Moscow to sell its oil at a higher price. The vast majority of its oil is transported by tankers, not pipelines.