The White House said it is “determined” to implement a global price cap on Russian oil as finance ministers from the G7 industrial powers on Friday pledged to impose such a cap. The effort is a bid to limit the Kremlin’s revenues and ability to fund its war in Ukraine, while also curtailing the war’s impact on energy prices and inflation.
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“The impact of our efforts to implement a price cap is already bearing fruit,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
“Reports show that Russia is already offering steep discounts as much as 30 percent and long term contracts to some countries. This also demonstrates that Russia is planning to continue supplying its oil and willing to swallow bigger discounts,” she said
The decision by the finance ministers follows discussions at the group’s summit earlier this year and aims at solving one of the vexing problems with sanctions against Russia: Global oil prices have risen on fears of restricted supply, which has only fattened the Kremlin’s take.
In a statement issued by Germany, which chairs the G-7 this year, the ministers said they “confirm our joint political intention to finalize and implement a comprehensive prohibition of services which enable maritime transportation of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products globally.”
READ MORE: U.S. House approves Russia oil import ban bill
The statement did not give any proposed figure for a potential price cap and also did not specify when the G-7 aims to finalize the plan.
To be effective, the price cap would have to involve as many importing countries as possible, in particular India where refiners have been snapping up cheap Russian oil shunned by Western traders.
In a related development Friday, Russian energy giant Gazprom said Friday that it can’t resume the supply of natural gas through a key pipeline to Germany for now because of what it said was a need for urgent maintenance work, just hours before it was due to recommence deliveries.
German officials have rejected the explanations as a cover for a political power play following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In separate matter, the White House is downplaying any friction between President Biden and Mississippi’s Reublican governor, Tate Reeves, over responding to the water crisis in Jackson.
President Joe Biden said his administration has offered Mississippi “every single thing available” to address the water crisis and called on the governor to fix the problems.
At Friday’s briefing at the White House, Jean-Pierre said, “the FEMA administrator spoke to the governor this week, and the president has spoken to the mayor of Jackson. The the conversations are happening.”
