US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has urged South Korea to support Washington’s plan to seek a price cap on Russian oil.
Speaking at a research and development facility run by the South Korea-based electronics giant LG, she called for international cooperation to stabilize energy prices and ease supply chain disruptions that have contributed to decades-high inflation.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, right, talks with South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho, left, at Lotte Hotel in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, July 19, 2022
© AP Photo / Chung Sung-Jun
“Economic integration has been weaponized by Russia”, the US Treasury Secretary alleged, referring to Moscow’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine as a “war” and urging “all responsible countries to unite in opposition” to the operation.
South Korean Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo kyung-ho signaled Seoul’s readiness to support the oil-price cap scheme, adding the plan should be formulated in a way that would help stabilize global oil and consumer prices.
This followed Yellen embarking on what has been dubbed a 10-day tour to the Indo-Pacific region for the oil-cap proposal that she claimed could stave off a global recession.
Last week, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan stressed that a price cap on Russian oil is being refined, but that the process will not be completed within days because of the number of elements that have to be worked through.
The remarks came after G7 members issued a communique during their summit late last month that the oil price cap scheme could be implemented through options such as allowing Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products to be shipped worldwide, but only if they are purchased at or below an agreed-upon price threshold.
In March, US President Joe Biden announced a ban on Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports, and the UK followed suit, declaring a halt of imports of Russian oil and petroleum products starting in early 2023.
The European Union has said it will block most Russian oil imports by the end of 2022. The decisions were part of “severe” sanctions that were imposed on Russia by the US and its allies shortly after the beginning of Moscow’s ongoing special operation to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine on February 24.