Estonian formin calls for lowering price cap on Russian oil

TALLINN - The presently valid price cap on Russian oil should be lowered further, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu said at the government's press conference on Thursday.

"We've seen that this price cap works and it hasn't caused any global fuel crises. Therefore, it would be reasonable to take this step and apply for the price cap of 60 US dollars per barrel to be lowered because the real price of Russian oil is currently lower than the price cap," Reinsalu said. 

The member states of the European Union agreed on the price cap in December 2022. Reinsalu said that at the proposal of Estonia and Poland, the price will be reviewed regularly with the first review to be conducted in mid-January.

In addition to the price cap, Estonia is of the position that the West must find legal ways for using frozen Russian assets, including the Russian central bank's reserves, for supporting Ukraine. 

"Looking at the proportions, we can see clearly that the total aid provided by the West last year is significantly smaller than the total amount of frozen assets," he said.