Gas price cap idea is a ‘cartel deal’: Energy Minister
Russian Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov confirms Russia's refusal to supply any country that backs the "cartel deal" with oil and gas.
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Model of a petrol pump in an illustration taken March 25, 2022 (Reuters)
Russia refuses to supply any country with natural gas and oil below market price, Energy Minister Nikolay Shulginov confirmed, rejecting the "price cap" idea floated by EU officials as an attempt to force a "cartel deal" on Moscow.
“We will definitely not sell at a loss or below cost. Well, that’s not possible. This is some kind of cartel deal against us. We will certainly not allow such an attitude towards us,” the Minister told broadcaster Rossiya-1 on Sunday.
The schemed plan is to push soaring energy prices even higher, Shulginov believes, suggesting that the EU leadership does not fully realize what it is doing.
“They are no longer aware of what they are doing. Only making it worse for themselves,” Shulginov said.
Read next: Buying Russian oil above price cap to result in sanctions: US Treasury
Moscow has warned several times that it won't supply energy to any country, under reduced prices, if it adopts such a scheme. Still, the EU leadership is maintaining attempts to push forward with the gas price cap plan.
Earlier, the European Commission prepared suggestions on measures aimed at tackling soaring energy prices to be discussed by the energy ministers of the bloc’s member states. The suggestions include the proposal to introduce a price cap on Russian natural gas.
Earlier, media reports had also suggested that some EU countries suggested that a price cap should not single out Russia, but get applied to all the suppliers selling gas to bloc members.
However, the bloc failed to agree on the cap, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto revealed Friday.
“Today there was no solution, there was only a political dispute, which served as a reference point for the European Commission. We now expect that next week or the week after that, not only the member states but also the European Commission will make written, substantial proposals,” he said.
It is worth mentioning that EU chief Ursula von der Leyen proposed that the bloc's 27 nations agree on placing a price cap on Russian gas imports.
Von der Leyen's decision comes as a means of imposing further sanctions on Russia as the West looks for more means of punishing the country over the war in Ukraine.
"The objective here is very clear. We must cut Russia's revenues which (Russian President Vladimir) Putin uses to finance this atrocious war against Ukraine," the president of the European Commission told reporters.
