The Russian Information Agency quoted Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying that Russia may reduce its oil production by between 5 and 7% in early 2023, while stopping oil sales to countries that support the imposition of borders, maximum on the prices of Russian crude and oil products.
Russia local Tass news agency also quoted Novak as saying that the cuts could range between 500,000 and 700,000 barrels per day.
On December 2, the G7 countries agreed to apply a maximum price of $60 per barrel of oil transported by sea from Russia, and the European Union also took a similar decision, and the price ceiling began to be applied on December 5, in what was described as the latest.
Western measure to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The price cap would allow non-EU countries to continue importing seaborne Russian crude, but would prevent shipping, insurance and reinsurance companies from handling shipments of Russian crude around the world unless they are sold below the price cap.
This came in addition to the ban imposed by the European Union on imports of Russian crude oil transported by sea, and pledges from the United States, Canada, Japan and Britain to take similar action.
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that he would issue a decree next week detailing Moscow’s response to the price cap, while he had previously stressed – along with high-ranking Russian officials in the Kremlin – that they would not supply oil to countries that apply the price cap.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of tough economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.
Russia requires ending the process Ukraine’s abandonment of any plans to join military entities, including NATO, and its commitment to complete neutrality, which Kyiv considers an interference in its sovereignty.
For his part, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced on Friday, that his country will allocate 2.5 billion Euros during the next 2023 to support Ukraine.
Rutte said in a tweet on his Twitter account for communication, “As long as Russia continues its war against Ukraine, the Netherlands will provide military, humanitarian and diplomatic assistance to Ukraine… We’ve allocated 2.5 billion Euros for this during the next year 2023.
Ukraine can count on the Netherlands, as we emphasized during our conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky”.
The Netherlands has already provided Ukraine with nearly 1 billion Euros in military aid.
The Council of the European Union this month approved a resolution on an aid package of 18 billion Euros for Ukraine, despite objections from Hungary.
The value of pledges at the international donors’ conference for Ukraine in Paris this December to help Ukraine amounted to about one billion euros ($1.05 billion), as supporters work to help the country withstand Russian strikes and severe weather.
The United States also provides military and economic aid to Ukraine to support it in resisting the Russian invasion since the twenty-fourth of last February.
