Report: Germany warns of difficulty in capping Russian oil price

MOSCOW, Jun 21 (PRIME) -- The German government is willing to discuss a U.S. proposal to cap the price of Russian oil exports, while cautioning that such a measure may be too complicated to implement, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s idea to link an oil price cap to insurance sanctions is an interesting proposal, and the Group of Seven most industrialized countries are in intense discussions about how to make this proposal work, according to a German government official familiar with the discussions.

But the American plan would require reworking sanctions the European Union put into place earlier this month that ban insuring Russian oil shipments, said the official, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. That process could be too complicated.

Germany, which currently holds the G-7 presidency and hosts a G-7 leaders summit later this month, told the U.S. and its other allies that Berlin was not categorically against a price mechanism, the official said. But added that it would be a very complicated issue to link an oil price cap to the insurance sanctions.

Sanctions in the E.U. require unanimity, and adoption of the latest package of measures that hit Russia over its operation in Ukraine took weeks to overcome objections led by Hungary. Several member states have expressed reticence to begin work on new sanctions.

Another government official said that G-7 leaders would discuss Yellen’s proposal at their summit in the Bavarian Alps, but he poured cold water on the possibility that an agreement could be reached soon.

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