The US welcomes the cap on the price of Russian oil: "It will restrict Russia's main source of income"

MADRID, 3 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The United States government has welcomed the agreement to cap the price of Russian oil transported by sea that the members of the European Union reached this Friday, assuring that the measure will restrict Russia's main source of income.

"Together, the G7, the European Union and Australia have set a cap on the price of Russian seaborne oil that will help us achieve our goal of restricting (Vladimir) Putin's main source of revenue for his illegal war in Ukraine while preserving at the same time the stability of global energy supplies," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

"Today's announcement is the culmination of months of effort by our coalition, and I commend the hard work of our partners to achieve this result."

According to Yellen, the price cap will encourage the flow of lower-priced Russian oil into world markets and is designed to protect consumers and businesses from global supply disruptions.

In this regard, he stressed that limiting prices will especially benefit low- and middle-income countries, "which have already borne the brunt of high energy and food prices, exacerbated by Putin's war", assuring that these countries will be able to benefit from greater stability in world energy markets.

"Today's move will also help further tighten Putin's finances and limit the revenue he is using to finance his brutal invasion. With Russia's economy already shrinking and its budget increasingly tight, the price cap will immediately reduce Putin's most important source of income," said the Treasury secretary.

The Member States of the European Union have reached an agreement this Friday to set a ceiling of 60 dollars, about 57 euros to change, at the price of Russian oil, diplomatic sources have confirmed to Europa Press, in a negotiation that has culminated a few three days after the embargo on the purchase of Russian crude oil formally approved in October goes into effect.

The measure follows the agreement reached within the G7 to set a ceiling between 65 and 70 dollars for Russian crude, and is aimed at oil transported by sea and will not affect oil that reaches Europe through the pipeline, after the exception achieved by Hungary and other landlocked European partners citing their heavy dependence on Russian oil.