European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that the 18th package of sanctions against Russia is already in the works. Although the European Union has only just adopted its 17th package of measures, Von der Leyen said that additional, tougher steps are being taken against Moscow.
“It is time to increase pressure on Russia to achieve a ceasefire,” she wrote on the X network after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine’s foreign minister called on G7 members to further lower the upper limit on the price of Russian oil transported by sea – from the current 60 to 30 dollars per barrel. According to Kiev, this move would further limit Russia’s oil export revenues and reduce its capacity to finance the war in Ukraine.
“A reasonable limit, from our point of view, is 30 dollars per barrel,” Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sibikha said during a visit to Brussels, Reuters reports.
The G7 imposed a price cap on Russian oil in December 2022 as part of sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. Under the rules, G7 companies are prohibited from providing transport, insurance and financing services for Russian oil if it is sold at a price higher than $60 per barrel.
The aim of the measure was to keep Russian oil on the global market to prevent a sharp rise in prices, but also to limit the Kremlin’s revenues.
The British government is now considering lowering the price cap further to bring it closer to the real cost of production, believing that this would further reduce Russian oil revenues.
