MOSCOW, June 28. /TASS/. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the intention of G7 to explore an option to set marginal prices on Russian oil and gas.
"We don't yet know what it is about, so I don't think any discussion is possible now," the Kremlin spokesman said, responding to a question from reporters on Tuesday.
The reporters also asked the Kremlin official how this decision, if implemented, could affect the fulfillment of social obligations by the Russian government. Responding to this question Peskov assured that the authorities are fulfilling all its social obligations.
"According to our constitution, Russia is a social state, so the main priority is to fulfil all social obligations," he stressed.
Earlier, the DPA agency reported citing diplomatic sources that the G7 countries (Germany, USA, the UK, France, Italy, Canada and Japan) were studying the possibility of setting marginal prices not only for Russian oil, but also for gas. Before that it was known that at the summit in the Bavarian castle of Elmau the G7 leaders were discussing an option to cap only oil prices.
According to a source in the German government, such a measure is aimed at limiting Russia’s revenues in the face of rising prices at the world level. According to Bloomberg, it is possible to ensure this by using a mechanism in which the Russia will be able to conclude contracts for insurance and transportation of its oil only on the condition that its price does not exceed a specified ceiling.
The embargo imposed by the EU and the US on the purchase of Russian oil led to a sharp surge in prices, which allowed Moscow to redirect large volumes of crude oil to other markets, primarily to India and China. Due to this, even by selling smaller volumes of oil Russia has increased its revenues as a result of Western sanctions, while the EU and the US suffer net losses, including the spillover effect in the form of inflation.