Indonesia to reject US calls to limit Russian oil prices

12 August 2022


Indonesia will probably not respond to Washington's calls to join the number of Asian countries that can support US efforts to reduce the price of Russian oil. This was reported Friday by Hong Kong's leading newspaper, the South China Morning Post.


According to the newspaper, Washington will appeal to its key Asian partners such as Australia, India, Malaysia and Japan for support in limiting the price of Russian oil. At the same time, analysts believe the efforts to lobby for this issue will not be successful in Indonesia; the country's authorities are likely to reject them.


The newspaper explains that Jakarta is unwilling to take any side in the confrontation between Russia and the West and risk its political neutrality.


The embargo imposed by the European Union and the US on the purchase of Russian oil led to a sharp increase in prices, which allowed Russia to redirect large amounts of raw materials to other markets, primarily to India and China, and even to increase revenues, although it sold smaller amounts of oil at a discount. The EU and the US are bearing losses, including a secondary effect in the form of inflation. Against this background, the Group of Seven summit in late June issued a statement promising to consider limiting the price of Russian oil by banning it from transportation by sea, if the cost of raw materials exceeds the ceiling "agreed upon by the international partners."


Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak called such steps another attempt to interfere with market mechanisms, which, he said, could only lead to market imbalances, shortages of energy resources and rising prices.


On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in response to a request for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. After that, the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom, and a number of other countries imposed sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities. In addition, Western countries stepped up arms deliveries to Kiev.

 

 

GSV "Russia - Islamic World"

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Based on materials from TASS