Politico: an attempt to impose a cap on Russian oil prices has finally failed

Alexey Belogoryev, Research and Development Director of the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented on Business FM on the possible consequences of using the secondary US sanctions against ships carrying Russian oil cargoes worth more than the so-called price cap.

"The United States, which came up with the price ceiling as a new economic mechanism, did not expect it to be effective. Rather, such hopes were among individual European politicians. It seems to me that the United States took a rather pragmatic approach to the issue, and this mechanism itself was invented in order to mitigate, rather than tighten, European sanctions, since in June 2022 the EU wanted to completely ban its companies from insuring and transporting Russian oil cargoes.

To prevent this, since it could lead to a reduction in Russian exports, the United States came up with this price ceiling mechanism, which allowed the same Greek companies, first of all, to continue to charter Russian oil. The United States has achieved its goal: it has not allowed a sharp reduction in Russian exports, and on the other hand, for its domestic voters, for the international public, it has shown that it is taking some decisive steps. The so-called grey fleet, that is, beyond the control of Western countries, understands its risks perfectly well. I think that such secondary sanctions, although they are purely targeted so far, will primarily scare off Western freight companies. But all these companies, in general, there are mostly those who understand that there is a certain risk."