According to people familiar with the matter, European Union diplomats are due to meet Friday evening to see if they can hammer out a final deal on a price level to cap Russian oil exports.
The price cap, which would be put in place with the Group of Seven, is a dispute that the bloc has been locked in a fight over how strict the price cap should be. Countries like Poland opposed to the EU executive arm's proposal to set a $65 per barrel limit, saying it was too generous to Russia. Other nations, including Greece, don't want to go below that level.
If you put the price cap too high, it doesn't really bite, according to the European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis in an interview on Bloomberg TV. Oil is the biggest source of revenue for the Russian budget, so it is important to get this right so it has an impact on Russia's ability to finance this war. Diplomats are optimistic that they can finalize a deal Friday, said the people who asked for anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. The bloc is feeling deadline pressure, with EU sanctions on Russian oil set to kick in on December 5.
The inclusion of a regular price review is a possibility of being considered a compromise, according to two people.
The goal of the price cap, first proposed by the US, is to keep Russian oil flowing, while also curbing Moscow's revenue. Critics of the levels proposed so far point to the fact that Moscow is already selling its oil at a discount, so a price cap at that level would allow for business as usual.
Read more: Russian oil is already trading far below Europe s proposed cap.
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