Ukraine President Zelenskyy calls EU's Russian oil price cap move 'weak'

Amid the brutal war in Eastern Europe, embattled Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday criticised the restriction on the price of Russian oil by his Western allies, further calling the move "weak". Zelenskyy made these remarks as the price cap, which was adopted on Friday, aims to prevent nations from paying more than $60 for a barrel of Russian crude oil that is transported by sea.

In a night video address to the nation, the President said, “The discussion on price caps, i.e. on limiting the export price of Russian oil, has ended in the world.”

Zelenskyy further said, “Unfortunately, without big decisions, as you wouldn't call it a big decision to set such a limit for Russian prices, which is quite comfortable for the budget of a terrorist state.” He continued in his speech, “It's a weak position.”  

The Ukrainian President further highlighted that Russian purposeful destabilisation of the energy market has already resulted in significant losses for all nations in the globe. Pointing the reasons behind the move, he said, “The logic is obvious: if the price limit for Russian oil is $60 instead of, for example, $30, which Poland and the Baltic countries talked about, then the Russian budget will receive about a hundred billion dollars a year.” 

Zelenskyy later claimed that this money will be used for more than only the war and Russia would further support terrorist groups and governments. Additionally, this money will be used to further destabilise the same nations that are currently attempting to avoid making important decisions. 

EU's Russian oil price cap

In the meantime, the G7 and its allies have officially authorised a price cap on Russian oil. In a joint statement, the Group of Seven (G7) and Australia stated that the limitation on price will start on December 5 or "very soon thereafter".

The move to cap the price required unanimous support from all European Union member states. Poland reportedly announced its support on Friday after being given guarantees that the cap would be kept at a rate that was 5% lower than the current rate. 

It is important to note that the G7 countries suggested a price cap in September in an attempt to prevent Russia from profiting from oil exports while barring a price hike. According to reports, Poland, Lithuania, as well as Estonia thought that the EU's proposed limit of $65-70 was too expensive.

Warsaw wanted the value to be as low as possible, so it waited to explore an adjustment mechanism that would keep the restriction below the market rate when the price of oil changed. 

(Image: AP)