- Sputnik International, 1920
Russia
The latest news and stories from Russia. Stay tuned for updates and breaking news on defense, politics, economy and more.

Ok, Thanks Joe: Biden Reveals How He Plans to Boss Russia Around to Reduce Gas Prices

© Photo : YouTube / Pat Kelly'Hey Putin! We're sending you a bill!' meme.
'Hey Putin! We're sending you a bill!' meme. - Sputnik International, 1920, 23.07.2022
Subscribe
The US average national gas price is hovering above $4.30 a gallon as of Saturday, according to American Automobile Association data. Prices began creeping upward last October, and reached never-before-seen highs in March and then again in June, after the US and its European allies attempted to cut Russia out of the West’s energy balance.
President Joe Biden has outlined a four-pronged plan to get a grip on gasoline prices, with the emergency strategy including an effort to slap a price ceiling on Russian oil, an idea Moscow has dismissed as dangerous and detrimental.
“First, we’re going to look at ways to increase oil production from the existing wells and permits that exist today. The industry has more approved permits for production on federal lands than they can possibly use. That’s a fact…So my message to these companies is: use the permits or lose them,” Biden said, speaking with members of his economic and energy team at the White House on Friday.
The second prong, Biden said, will include browbeating the oil industry into using its record profits “to increase production and refining,” not “to buy back your stocks and dividends.”
“Look, thirdly, we’ll talk about a global price cap on Russian oil – that I got our partners to agree to last month at the G7 – that will keep supply up and Putin’s revenues down. In the days and weeks ahead, I’m going to keep doing what I can to bring down the price of gas at the pump,” Biden pledged.
The fourth component, Biden said, will involve converting to a clean energy economy as soon as possible. “That means cleaner renewable energy, more affordable electric vehicles, and clean energy manufactured here in the United States. That’s how we’ll protect the climate and create jobs,” he said.
Oil rig - Sputnik International, 1920, 06.07.2022
Russia
US, Allies Reportedly Discuss Capping Russian Oil at $40 to $60
Price Cap Trap
The Group of Seven industrialized nations agreed to try to put a price cap on Russian oil exports at rates substantially below market prices at its summit in Bavaria in late June, with Washington subsequently beginning probing inquiries to determine whether countries like India, South Korea, and even China would support the idea.
Earlier this month, the US Treasury conceded that trying to artificially constrain the price of Russian oil was fraught with a range of “technical and diplomatic challenges.” Washington’s biggest trump card centers around the West’s control of roughly 90 percent of global shipping insurance and reinsurance services.
In this photo taken on Thursday, July 14, 2016, Gazprom oil producing facility situated in the Yamal region, Russia - Sputnik International, 1920, 12.07.2022
Russia's Special Operation in Ukraine
Russian Oil Price Cap Fraught With ‘Technical, Diplomatic Challenges', US Treasury Concedes
Bad Idea
Western energy market experts have suggested that the price cap idea is a fool’s errand, and warned that the proposal could backfire if key global oil consumers like China and India aren’t involved.
“In any event, the Russians won’t just sit there and do nothing. They can play games with supplies of oil and indeed gas…they can mess with the G7’s head in some respect so I think this plan is really a non-starter,” independent market analyst specializing in in energy Neil Atkinson told CNBC earlier this month.
Energy Aspects director of research Amrita Sen echoed Atkinson’s sentiments. “They haven’t thought it through, they haven’t spoken to India and China…Do we really think they are going to agree to this? And do we really think that Russia will actually accept this and not retaliate? I think this sounds like a very, very good theoretical concept but it is just not going to work in practice,” Sen said.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak confirmed experts’ worst fears on Wednesday, warning that Moscow would simply stop exporting crude to global markets if an artificial price cap was set below the cost of production.
Earlier in the month, Novak indicated that the imbalance in the global oil market caused by any potential price caps would only result in higher prices.
Russia accounts for about 12 percent of world oil production, and recent US and EU attempts to push its output out of their markets have helped assure record energy prices. Most US and European leaders have blamed Russia for the crisis, with Biden constantly blaming “Putin’s price hike” for Americans’ pain at the pump.
On Saturday, Hungarian President Viktor Orban compared the West’s strategy of restrictions against Russia to “a car with flat tires on all four wheels,” saying they “did not destabilize Moscow,” but so far only led to the ouster of the British, Bulgarian, Italian, and Estonian governments.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban acknowledges cheering supporters during an election night rally in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, April 3, 2022. - Sputnik International, 1920, 23.07.2022
Russia
Orban: Sanctions Made No Change in Moscow's Course, Europe Lost Four Governments
Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала