The Polish authorities are disrupting the imposition of the toughest sanctions against Russia, which should hit the oil revenues of the aggressor country hard, as Poland demands to make the imposed restrictions even tougher. Due to Warsaw's position, the coalition of Western countries risks not having time to agree on a mechanism for limiting oil prices before the December 5 deadline. This was reported by Reuters with reference to the participants in the negotiations.
“There is still no agreement. All legal complications have already been agreed, but because of Poland we cannot agree on a price limit,” one of the diplomats told the agency.
The agency recalls that if the EU countries do not manage to agree on the maximum prices for Russian oil before December 5, then, according to the already adopted package of sanctions from Europe, a complete ban on working with Russian oil will work against the Russian Federation, including the oil embargo, which the EU approved still in the summer. European sanctions are tougher than the proposed G7 price cap mechanism.
Poland, as well as Estonia and Lithuania, believe that the price ceiling for Russian oil should be set as close as possible to the cost of oil production. The Baltic countries insisted on a ceiling of $30 per barrel. The EU is currently considering introducing a price ceiling of $60-70. Initially, European countries considered an even narrower range of $65-70 per barrel; the last level, which was discussed most substantively, was $62 per barrel.
Greece, Malta and Cyprus, countries that are heavily dependent on transport companies, oppose a sharp reduction in the ceiling level. However, even these countries have agreed to the terms that involve sanctions and are no longer an obstacle to an agreement, unlike Poland.
“The Poles are completely uncompromising in their position, not even offering a debatable alternative. Many are already starting to get annoyed by their position, ”said one of the diplomats who spoke with the agency.
Poland's position is confirmed by the current state of the market. Russian oil is currently trading at $52 a barrel, well below the proposed ceiling. Western countries expect that the oil price ceiling mechanism will significantly reduce Moscow's revenues from oil sales by sea, moreover, the Western coalition hopes that this will lead to a drop in Russian oil prices, even in supplies to those buyers who do not join the mechanism – speech is about Turkey, China and India.