Japan PM Fumio Kishida says G7 mulling to slash Russian oil prices by half: Report

In his latest remarks, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated that the Group of Seven (G7) nations have decided to impose a cap on Russian oil prices by slashing them to around half of the current purchase price. During a public address in Tokyo on Sunday, Kishida made reference to a joint communique released after the recently concluded G7 summit in Germany. He went on to say that a mechanism would be developed to stop the purchase of Russian oil at a price higher than the cap.

According to the communiqué, a plan to cap oil prices might allow for the international shipping of Russian crude oil and petroleum products only if the commodity is purchased at or below a specified price. According to reports, limiting the price of oil is anticipated to further tighten the existing sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

"We are facing a grave situation in which the order of peace is being shaken. We must show that aggression comes with a heavy price." Kishida stated, as per Kyodo News. 

Japanese PM Kishida bats for unified G7 amid Ukraine war

Meanwhile, the Japanese Prime Minister has also stressed the importance of presenting a united front by the G7 leaders in order to prevent other nations from drawing the "wrong lessons" from Russia's invasion of Ukraine. According to local reports, his statement was an evident reference to China's growing aggression in the Indo-Pacific region. He highlighted Beijing's deployment of ships to the Senkaku Islands' surrounding waters and its gas field explorations in the East China Sea as attempts to enact a violent change in the status quo.

G-7 nations pledge to increase import duties on Russian goods

It is pertinent to mention here that the G-7 nations also pledged to increase import duties on Russian goods coming into their nations. The host of the summit, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, stated that the G-7 nations' stances on Ukraine are largely consistent and that they recognise the need to be both firm and careful. In addition to using sanctions to target Russia's supply lines for defence equipment, the United States also announced new tariffs on as many as 570 different categories of products.  

Image: AP