Zelensky criticizes European Union Russian oil price cap

The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskycalled the decision of the European Union (EU) of limiting Russia’s oil as a “weak position” and still very “comfortable for the budget of a terrorist state”, in his speech this Saturday (3).

The EU reached a consensus on Friday on the price at which to cap Russian oil, just days before its ban on most imports takes effect. The bloc’s 27 member states agreed to set the ceiling at US$60 a barrel.

The measure aims to reduce inflows to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war chest without increasing stress on the global economy by further reducing energy supplies.

But Ukraine’s president said the decision did not go far enough, saying the situation called for “big decisions”.

“You wouldn’t call it a big decision to set such a cap on Russian prices, which is quite comfortable for the budget of a terrorist state,” Zelensky said. He added that Russia has already “caused huge losses to every country in the world by deliberately destabilizing the energy market”.

“The logic is obvious: if the price cap 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 one hundred billion dollars a year,” Zelensky said.

Money will flow into the war effort and “into Russia’s further sponsorship of other terrorist regimes and organizations,” the president added.