Russia today threatened to suspend the supply of oil and oil products to countries that decide to limit the price of Russian crude.
“If they impose price restrictions, we will simply not supply oil and petroleum products to the companies or states that impose them, since we will not work in a non-competitive manner,” Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said in statements collected by the official TASS agency. .
The finance ministers of the G7 countries (the US, Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Canada and Japan) will discuss on Friday the idea of putting a price limit on Russian oil exports to prevent the Kremlin from taking over large revenues as the price of a barrel of crude rises.
Novak called proposals to cap the price of Russian oil “completely absurd,” adding that the move could completely destroy the world crude market.
“Interference in the market mechanisms of an industry as important as the oil industry, which is the most important in terms of ensuring the energy security of the whole world, will only destabilize the oil market,” he said.
Novak pointed out that those European and US consumers who are already paying high prices for energy now will be the first to pay for the measure.
“This will completely ruin the market,” the deputy prime minister emphasized.