The Kremlin said on Tuesday it does not recognize price caps introduced by Western countries on their oil exports, after the United States said the cap was “working well”.
Washington was one of the principal architects of the Western price cap on Russian oil, which aims to reduce Moscow’s revenue that is used to fund its invasion of Ukraine.
“We do not and will not accept any limits. We are working so that this system does not harm our own interests,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Read more: What did the Defense Minister of Russia say on the war in Ukraine’s Bakhmut: ‘The city is…’
Russia’s economy has proved remarkably resilient in the face of harsh Western sanctions, but price caps have complicated its efforts to sell oil globally.
Moscow, which accounts for about 10 percent of global oil supply, said last month it would cut output by 500,000 barrels per day in March in response to the price cap.
US officials argue the price cap is working because Russia’s Ural blend – a benchmark of Moscow’s exports – sells at a steep discount to the international marker Brent.
“I think the beauty of the process is that it is working and the price of Russian oil and Russian products is being traded below the threshold,” US energy envoy Amos Hochstein said on Monday.
