Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said how Russia would act if Western countries implemented the idea of capping price of Russian oil.
The very idea of capping oil prices is absurd, Novak said. According to him, attempts to interfere in market mechanisms in such an important industry will destabilize it and pose a threat to the entire oil market. This, in turn, may endanger the energy security of the whole world.
"It is European and American consumers who will pay for this in the first place. They already pay high prices due to destabilizing factors that they accept, such as sanctions and restrictions,” RIA Novosti quoted Novak as saying.
According to him, Russia is not going to cooperate on non-market conditions, nor will Russia be supplying oil and petroleum products to the countries that support price caps on energy supplies from Russia.
Novak also noted that Russian companies were preparing for the introduction of the EU embargo. The embargo is to come into force in December. The embargo will first affect oil supplies by sea.
The meeting of G7 finance ministers will take place on September 2. The ministers, as it is expected, will approve a plan to cap prices on Russian oil.
Not too long ago, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen once again stressed the importance of adopting such a plan. According to her, without the price cap, the world will face the threat of a global increase in energy prices if the bulk of Russian oil becomes unavailable.
The United States has already banned imports of Russian oil and petroleum products. At the same time, there are fears in Washington that energy prices will start growing should Russian oil supplies to the world market are cut. The US proposes to avoid this by setting a limit on oil prices from the Russian Federation. If this fails, it will be impossible to avoid oil shortages.
The most important question here is how Russia is going to respond to such attempts of the West. Judging by Novak's statements, Moscow is not going to ignore the undertakings of the United States and its allies.