HELSINKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th November, 2022) Estonia could resort to its veto right in the European Union if it believes that a price cap on Russian oil is set too high, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Thursday.
Earlier in the day, the Politico newspaper reported that most EU countries had supported the proposal to introduce the price cap on Russian oil at $65-70 per barrel. At the same time, Poland proposed a price ceiling of $30.
"According to Estonia, such a price horizon is not ambitious enough. That level of oil prices seems too high. This is a question when all member states have an equal voice and consensus must be reached, that is, each country has a veto," Reinsalu said at a government press conference in Tallinn.
Setting the price cap requires the consent of all EU member states. According to media reports, EU negotiations on setting the price ceiling reached a dead end on Wednesday.
Western countries have been seeking ways to limit Russia's income from oil and gas exports since the country launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. In September, the G7 finance ministers confirmed their intention to impose the price cap on Russian oil and urged all nations to support the initiative. In October, the EU introduced its eighth package of sanctions against Moscow, which included a legislative basis for setting the price cap for maritime shipments of Russian oil to third countries.
Moscow, in turn, has pledged to altogether stop exporting Russian oil to countries that impose the price cap.
