The goal set out by G7 leaders in the Bavarian Alps on Tuesday was ambitious: to prevent Russia profiting from its “war of aggression” in Ukraine, which has sent energy prices soaring, while minimising the economic damage around the world caused by the rises.
US president Joe Biden and his allies discussed imposing an untested new mechanism that aims to impose a ceiling on Russian oil prices. German chancellor and G7 host Olaf Scholz called the plans “very ambitious” and said that a lot would have to fall into place for them to be realised.
What is being proposed?
The idea of a price cap is to permit Russian oil to reach markets that have not imposed import bans — notably lower and middle income countries — in order to limit upward pressure on global oil prices, while curbing revenue to Moscow.