G7 leaders agree to cap Russian oil prices
Photographers take pictures as Britain's prime minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, France's President Emmanuel Macron and Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi wait for a meeting of five G 7 leaders on June 28, 2022 at Elmau Castle, southern Germany, on the last day of the G 7 Summit. LUDOVIC MARIN POOL AFP GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany -- G 7 leaders have agreed to place price caps on Russian oil and gas imports in order to limit Moscow's ability to fund its special military operation in Ukraine, G 7 officials said on Tuesday.
The European Union is going to look at ways to curb energy prices, including the possibility of introducing temporary import price caps, a section of the G 7 communique seen by Reuters. The officials said this meant both oil and gas.
The Group of Seven rich nations has been debating a global price cap for Russian energy.
ALSO READ: Like Ukraine crisis, Western sanctions have also hurt the world.
In May Russian oil export revenues increased even though sanctions reduced its export volumes, the International Energy Agency said in its June monthly report.
The United States was the first to call for a mechanism that would cap the price other countries pay for Russian oil.
The idea is to tie financial services, insurance and shipping of oil cargoes to a cap on Russian oil prices. If a shipper or importer wanted these services, they would have to commit to Russian oil being sold for a set maximum price.
Italy, whose economy is dependent on Russian energy, has pushed to extend the price cap to gas.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi warned of the need to tackle energy prices in order to contain inflation and said that the main objection to a gas cap from fellow Europeans was the fear that it could lead Russia to reduce supplies further.
The picture taken on May 9,2022 shows equipment operated by GCA Gas Connect Austria and TAG Trans Austria Gas pipelines at one of the largest interconnection gas hubs in Europe in Baumgarten an der March, Lower Austria. The facility mainly receives Russian imports, but also shipments of gas from Norway and some other countries. JOE KLAMAR AFP France said the price cap mechanism should extend beyond Russian products to reduce prices more broadly, including for the G 7 nations that are looking to source energy from elsewhere.
A G 7 leader has agreed to impose a ban on imports of Russian gold as part of efforts to tighten the sanctions on Moscow, an EU official said on Tuesday.
Britain, the United States, Japan and Canada agreed at the start of the G 7 summit on Sunday that they would ban imports of newly mined or refined Russian gold, while the European Union expressed some reservations.
G 7 nations, which generate nearly half of the world's economic output, want to crank up pressure on Russia without soaring inflation that is causing strains at home and savaging developing nations.
There is a real risk of multiple famines this year as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has compounded the negative impact of climate crises and the COVID 19 epidemic on food security, according to UN chief Antonio Guterres last week.
The G 7 will commit to $5 billion to improve global food security, with the United States providing over half of that amount going to efforts to fight hunger in 47 countries and fund regional organizations, according to a senior US official.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday that we're working on it, and that we're all working on it, asked if G 7 leaders had found a way to let Ukraine export grain.