MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th October, 2022) The European Union is pushing for final approval of the price cap on Russian oil proposed by the G7 countries, but some member states are hesitating, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Tuesday, citing diplomats and officials.
The European authorities are preparing legislation needed to implement the international price cap on Russian oil in two stages, as the member states are quite close to reaching an agreement, the diplomats and officials told the WSJ, adding that the final approval may take some time as not all G7 countries are ready.
The EU member states that show the greatest hesitation include Greece, Cyprus and Malta, according to the report.
In early September, G7 finance ministers confirmed their intention to impose price caps for Russian oil and called on all nations to support the initiative as part of sanctions pressure against Russia in response to its military operation in Ukraine. The price cap is scheduled to take effect on December 5 for crude oil, and on February 5, 2023, for refined products coming from Russia. Moscow, in turn, has vowed to altogether stop exporting Russian oil to the countries that impose the price cap.
Meanwhile, US Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy Ben Harris said earlier on Tuesday that the new G7 sanctions targeting Russian oil and oil products will be introduced in three phases.
According to Harris, the decision on the price at which Russian oil will be capped has not yet been made. However, the limit will be high enough to encourage Russia to maintain production, and will be above the marginal production cost of Russia's most expensive oil well.
