The Nordic and Baltic states have asked the European Commission to tighten the price cap on Russian oil as a matter of high priority, arguing that "sanctions must be strengthened continuously" to disable the Kremlin's war against Ukraine,
Euronews reports.
"Measures that target revenues from the export of oil are crucial since they reduce Russia's single most important income source," the foreign ministers of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden wrote in a joint letter seen by Euronews.
The document, dated 11 January, is addressed to High Representative Kaja Kallas and European Commissioner for Financial Services Maria Luís Albuquerque.
"We believe now is the time to further increase the impact of our sanctions by lowering the G7 oil price cap," the six countries write.
The cap is a ground-breaking initiative introduced by G7 allies in late 2022 to limit the seaborne trade of Russian crude oil at $60 per barrel. The mechanism prohibits Western companies from providing services to Russian tankers, such as insurance, financing and flagging, that sell crude oil above the agreed-upon price tag.
The G7 also established two additional caps for premium-to-crude products ($100 per barrel) and discount-to-crude products ($45 per barrel).
The caps have remained untouched since their approval, despite strong fluctuations in Russian trade and ample evidence of sanctions circumvention.
As a way to bypass the restrictions, Moscow has deployed a "shadow fleet" of aged, poorly-kept tankers that use obscure ownership and insurance structures. The "shadow fleet" has been accused of deceptive practices, including transmitting falsified data, turning off their transponders to become invisible to satellite systems, and conducting multiple ship-to-ship transfers to conceal the origin of their oil barrels. It has also raised fears for its potential to cause an environmental disaster at sea.
