Russia ‘successfully adapting’ to pressure from G7, says envoy to US

Russian Politics & Diplomacy September 30, 2023, 9:59

Anatoly Antonov added that American officials realize the ineffectiveness of sanctions pressure on Moscow

WASHINGTON, September 30. /TASS/. Russia is successfully adapting to the illegitimate practices pursued by the Group of Seven (G7), while US officials realize that sanctions pressure on Moscow has produced no results, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

"We noted the statements made by US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen regarding the setbacks in sanctions against our country. We reiterate that any restrictive measures against Russia will not lead to the desired effect. Now, this became evident even to US officials. Especially, when the strategy towards limiting our crude oil trade was portrayed in Washington as a highly creative step," he pointed out in a statement posted on the Russian embassy’s Telegram channel.

"Life has confirmed that the course of the United States towards the economic suffocation of the Russian Federation is doomed. Our country is successfully adapting to the illegitimate practices imposed by the G7. We are expanding our own tanker fleet, developing insurance instruments, and reorienting supplies to more dynamic markets," Antonov stressed.

"At the same time, the White House’s overt stubbornness in its desire to increase pressure on our country in the energy sector, including through the price cap, is striking. In attempts to harm Russia in any way, the US authorities are even ready to shoot themselves in the foot, spurring a new surge in gasoline prices in the United States. Washington should consider that such overtures with non-market and illegal practices threaten to turn against the United States itself and ordinary Americans," the Russian envoy noted.

US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen said on Friday that the G7’s attempts to restrict the price of Russian oil had failed to produce the desired results. She pointed to "some reduction in the effectiveness of the price cap." "Russia has spent a great deal of money and time and effort to provide services for the export of its oil," Yellen added, as cited by Bloomberg.

On December 5, 2022, an embargo on maritime Russian oil shipments to the European Union came into force. G7 nations, the EU and Australia agreed on a price cap for Russian oil delivered by sea, setting the ceiling at $60 a barrel. Moreover, starting February 5, 2023, similar restrictions on deliveries of petroleum products from Russia were enforced as the EU Council officially greenlighted the decision, in conjunction with the G7, to introduce a price ceiling on Russian petroleum products supplied by sea at $100 for premium oil and at $45 for discount.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on October 13, 2022, that Moscow would not supply oil to the countries putting artificial restrictions on prices.

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