Today a number of NGOs, led by Ukrainian group Razom We Stand, have slammed the G7 for shelving its regular reviews of the Russian oil price cap scheme, even though most Russian crude is trading above the limit because of rises in global crude prices.
Critique of the G7, especially the USA and European Union members, has been widespread as sanctions have failed to stop money flowing from Western countries into Russia's war budget. Not only China and India are known to buy significant amounts of Russian fossil fuel exports, but the EU has been the largest buyer (purchasing 53% of Russia’s LNG exports).
Svitlana Romanko, Founder and Director of Razom We Stand, stated:
Mai Rosner, Co- Team Lead Ukraine Project, Global Witness, said:
"The price cap was explicitly designed to keep Russian oil flowing around the world, an objective that is directly at odds with ending the war in Ukraine. Even at its highest level, Global Witness documented price-cap violations on millions of barrels of Russian oil and an almost total lack of enforcement from Western governments. The mechanism has proven to be unworkable - governments should scrap the cap and instead institute a full ban on the trade of Russian oil"
Lauri Myllyvirta, Lead Analyst, CREA, stated:
"The U.S., EU and other countries implementing the oil price cap have broken their commitment to review the level of the cap to ensure it remains at least 5% below the average market price for Russian oil. Since early July 2023, the price for Russia’s main crude oil variety, the Urals crude, has soared well above the USD 60 per barrel price cap. Yet, tankers owned or insured in the price cap coalition continue to lift the majority of Russian oil, according to CREA analysis. More must be done to reduce Russia’s oil export earnings used to fund Putin’s war on Ukraine by improving monitoring and enforcement as well as lowering the oil price cap."
As Russia's aggressive war on Ukraine enters its 561st day, it's time for the USA and EU to put their money where their mouths are. If they want to stop the brutal acts Russia carries out daily against Ukraine, they must stop funding it by allowing economic support for the Russian oil and gas industry.
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CONTACT:
Jason Kirkpatrick
Senior Communications Manager, press@razomwestand.org
Notes to editors:
Professional photos of Svitlana Romanko are available here, copyright-free unless otherwise noted on the image.
Ukrainian group Razom We Stand, founded at the beginning of Russia's war in 2022, campaigns to end the war by cutting Russia's exports of fossil fuels, has continuously advocated for a comprehensive and fully enforced embargo on Russian fossil fuels and works towards a green rebuilding of Ukraine with clean energy, for a better climate and better future. Learn more here: https://razomwestand.org/en/about-us
