Russia will ban the sale of oil to countries that have imposed a price

The administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing a decree that prohibits Russian companies from selling oil to countries that participate in the introduction of a price ceiling, Bloomberg writes.

The decree will ban any mention of the price limitation in contracts for Russian oil and its transfer to countries that supported the introduction of the price ceiling, the source said.

Negotiations on the price ceiling for Russian oil

It was reported that the negotiations on the price ceiling for Russian oil within the global mechanism, which Western countries intend to adopt, have reached a deadlock. The European countries have stuck to several challenging negotiating positions of Poland, Hungary, Greece, and Malta and still need help finding a consensus.

The European Commission proposed a compromise option of $ 65 per barrel of Russian oil, but something other than this is needed to suit the Baltic countries led by Poland. This bloc insists that such a price level is too “generous to Moscow.” 

Another opinion is held by countries with well-developed shipping businesses – first of all, Greece and Malta. These countries insist on the upper limit of the ceiling under discussion at $70 per barrel: the higher the top, the more opportunities for local businesses to make money on Russian oil supplies.

Some countries refused to join the mechanism

On Wednesday, November 23, it became known that a coalition of Western countries led by the United States has agreed on almost all critical points of the agreement, which will introduce a mechanism of ceiling prices for Russian oil.

The system prohibits the provision of any services accompanying the maritime transportation of Russian oil if the price of oil in the tanker exceeds the ceiling price, negotiations on which are still ongoing. The main buyers of Russian oil – China, India, and Turkey – refused to join the mechanism. Still, the sanctions will allow them to strengthen their negotiating position with Russia and demand a higher discount.