Russia refuses oil deliveries to countries backing G7 price cap
Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko names Japan among countries supporting 'provocative scheme'.
Moscow will not supply oil to countries that support anti-market measures to maintain a price cap, Russia has said.
The energy market is currently volatile, with a shortage and rising cost of energy resources, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told the Russian daily Izvestia on Tuesday.
Asked about trade with countries that support anti-Russian sanctions, including Japan, he said Tokyo is bound by commitments to a price cap on Russian-origin oil, which he described as "an anti-market measure that disrupts supply chains."
"As has been stated repeatedly, Russia will not supply oil to countries that support this provocative scheme," he said.
Changes in US sanctions policy
On March 12, the US Treasury Department announced that, as part of changes to US sanctions policy, it had granted an exception for the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products until April 12.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained that removing Russian oil sales from US sanctions was aimed at lowering energy prices on global markets due to the war in Iran.
In a joint statement on Monday following last week's meeting, the G7 economy and finance ministers said that they were prepared to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the stability of the energy market as they addressed the economic consequences of the US-Israeli war in the Middle East.
The G7 price cap on Russian crude oil, introduced in December 2022, was designed as a dual-purpose mechanism to reduce Moscow's energy revenues while maintaining global oil flows by prohibiting Western maritime services for cargoes sold above a set price.