Peskov: Putin’s oil price decree covers existing oil contracts

MOSCOW, Dec 28 (PRIME) -- President Vladimir Putin’s Tuesday decree that prohibits the sales of Russian oil and oil products is retroactive if a contract includes a price cap imposed by the Western states directly or indirectly, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday.

“If it includes a reference to a ‘price cap’ of some kind, of course, it covers them. It is unacceptable. But if it does not include the price cap, the decree doesn’t cover it,” he said.

Putin had not held any consultations with the OPEC+ alliance while working on the decree.

“Mainly, (the consultations were held) in Russia. This is Russia’s sovereign right to respond to these illegitimate and absurd measures of the so-called price cap. That is why an internal Russian expert review was held before that,” Peskov said, adding that no direct discussions with the OPEC+ were held on the matter.

The Russian authorities are also analyzing the possibility of introduction of a price cap on natural gas by the West, but it is too early to speak about any further steps in this direction, he said.

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