Poland, Estonia, Lithuania welcome price cap on Russian oil

WARSAW

The European Affairs Ministers of Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland welcomed the agreement on the oil price cap on Russian oil exports, which aims to limit Russian oil revenues while mitigating the adverse effects on energy supply to third countries, they announced on Monday.

In a joint declaration, the ministers said the initial oil price cap of $60, which is the result of long negotiations within the G7 and EU-27, will ensure the effectiveness of sanctions imposed on Russian oil.

"We have made every effort to ensure that the main goal of the cap, which is to limit Russian oil revenues, is achieved," the announcement read.

The ministers confirmed that the price cap would be set at least 5% below the average market price for Russian oil and would be up for review every two months in response to market developments.

"We highlight that we will work further to completely stop Russia’s profit from oil sales. The price cap is just one element of our response to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. We need to continue providing our support to Ukraine by cutting off Russia’s ability to finance the war, including by taking into account Russian frozen assets and imposing effective sanctions," they said.

An EU embargo on imports of Russian crude oil by sea, which was adopted by the EU Commission on June 3 as part of a sixth package of restrictive measures against Moscow, came into effect on Monday.

Russian officials have announced that they will refuse to sell oil to countries that agree to the price cap.