EU could impose Russian oil price cap without US support, Kallas says

The European Union can impose an additional price cap on Russian oil without U.S. support, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said at the Brussels Forum on June 11.

“If you think about the oil going through the channels, it’s mostly Europe, it’s via the Baltic Sea, it’s via the Black Sea. So even if the Americans are not on board, we can still do it and have an impact,” Kallas said.

The EU’s 17th package of sanctions against Russia came into effect on May 20. The bloc is already working on its next wave of sanctions.

The 18th EU sanctions package will include additional restrictions on energy, banking, oil, and other areas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on June 10.

“What the intelligence tells is that, now the sanctions will (harder hit) the supply chains of Russia needed to really fund this war,” Kallas said.

“Of course, it is important the United States… is together with us, and we have been operating together for quite some time,” she said.

Kallas noted the Group of Seven (G7) oil price cap was previously agreed upon to be 5% below the market price.

“It is important, of course, what we do together, but it is also equally important for us what we do alone, because we alone are also a player,” Kallas said.

Kallas noted the EU is still an ally to the U.S., but recognized the dynamic between the two powers is changing.

“We still value the relationship… I think with the Americans we are not growing apart, but growing up in our relationships,” Kallas said.

The upcoming G7 summit will take place in Alberta, Canada. A wide range of topics, including Russia’s war against Ukraine, are expected to be discussed at the annual event.

President Volodymyr Zelensky previously confirmed he would be attending the G7 summit after receiving an invitation from Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.

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When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, film director Kateryna Gornostai found herself questioning whether she would continue working. “I had this feeling that life — at least professionally — had come to an end,” she says. “Who needed directors or screenwriters, then? At most, volunteers were needed, but hardly anyone

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