Russia rejects West's price cap on its energy resources, saying it will never accept any such caps

As Western countries and their allies rally to put limits on Russian energy prices, especially its natural gas, Moscow says it will never accept any caps placed by any foreign party on its energy resources.

Speaking during a televised interview on Sunday, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "any price caps are unacceptable," despite the fact that the limits are set rather high, because it is a matter of principle.

"It is interference into market pricing processes.... That is why it is out of the question," the Kremlin official noted.

Peskov said, "And if today we accept this generous limit, tomorrow we will have to accept a limit infringing upon our interests," adding, "We will never accept such distortion and destruction of the market pricing process."

On December 2, the European Union and the Group of Seven industrialized nations -- that includes the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, the Unites States, France, and Japan -- agreed on a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil imports in an alleged attempt to starve Russia's ongoing military campaign in Ukraine.

Three days later, the EU also started enforcing an oil embargo on Russian crude deliveries by sea that would ban shipments, which reportedly account for two thirds of its imports.

Similar steps were taken by the Group of Twenty countries and Australia, which also included banning Western companies from offering transport, financial and insurance services to tankers shipping oil from Russia at a price exceeding the agreed price cap. 

EU, G7 agree on price cap on Russia oil imports

The EU and the G7 group of industrialized nations agree on a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil imports.

Later this month, the EU's energy ministers agreed to trigger a cap if gas prices exceeded 180 euros per megawatt hour for three days on the Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) gas hub's front-month contract, which serves as the European benchmark. The price cap can be triggered starting from February 15, 2023, Reuters reported at the time, citing a document detailing the final deal.

Russia’s Gazprom: Gas price cap would lead to suspension of supplies to Europe

The head of Russia’s energy giant Gazprom has warned that the likely imposition of a price cap on Russian gas in Europe would entail the termination of supplies to the continent.

On Sunday, Russia's ITAR-TASS news agency reported that Moscow "is preparing response measures" to the raft of arbitrary steps by the European states and their allies.

"EU sanctions inevitably lead to gas shortages in Europe"

In a related development on Sunday, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak warned that Europe would inevitably face gas shortages, since its decision to set a price cap on gas and other anti-Russian sanctions would spell trouble for the continent.

"The latest decision on a price cap on gas demonstrates once again that our Western colleagues are not guided by economic common sense, but are rather flirting with their voters," he said in an interview with Russia's TASS news agency.

Novak added, "They derive short-term profits but only political, not economic. As for long-term perspectives, these decisions only provoke a profound long-term crisis and destabilization in Europe."

The Russian deputy prime minister stated that gas production in Norway and the United Kingdom will grow for a little while, but supplies of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe may be unstable.

"They cut imports of Russia gas and are now oriented on LNG and increased domestic production, which happened in Norway and the United Kingdom for a short term. But their resources are scarce and the growth will not be long," Novak said.

He added, "As for LNG, there are no guarantees either. If consumption is the Asia Pacific region goes up, Europe will inevitable face shortages."

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