The Office of the President is considering lowering the price of Russian oil to $30 per barrel

The head of the President’s office, Andriy Yermak, said that the introduction of a hard price ceiling for Rosneft is an important tool for curbing the Kremlin’s aggression.

The McFaul-Yermak group proposes to lower the maximum price to $30 per barrel. This was stated by the head of the President’s office of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, in Telegram.

“Since the time of Brezhnev, Moscow has been using energy exports as a tool of geopolitics. Putin has completely adopted this model of behavior,” Yermak wrote.

He emphasized the direct relationship between oil prices and Russia’s ability to finance war.

“The higher the oil prices, the more weapons and aggressive intentions in Russia. The cheaper the oil, the closer the peace,” the politician assured.

Thus, the McFaul-Yermak group, which is developing sanctions proposals against Russia, proposes to significantly reduce the maximum price for oil from the current level of about $60 to $30 per barrel. This will limit Russia’s energy export revenues, which make up the bulk of the Kremlin’s budget.

According to experts, the group’s proposed price ceiling of $30 per barrel corresponds to the cost of oil production in Russia. This will force the Kremlin to sell oil at a minimal profit or even at a loss, which will significantly limit its ability to finance military campaigns.

Yermak also welcomed any initiatives by US President-elect Donald Trump and his team aimed at reducing oil prices.

Reference: The McFaul-Yermak group is an international working group created in 2022 to develop sanctions against Russia. It includes Ukrainian and international experts, politicians and economists. The group is chaired by Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, and Michael McFaul, former US ambassador to Russia.

The group’s goal is to develop strategies for economic pressure on the Russian Federation that should weaken its ability to finance the war. In particular, the group is actively working on the issue of limiting prices for Russian energy resources, has proposed sanctions against key sectors of the Russian economy and strengthening international control over their implementation.

The day before, USM reported that US sanctions had “cut off” the supply of Russian oil to Asia.