Live: EU, G7, Asutralia reach deal on price caps for Russian oil

Issued on: 04/02/2023 – 07:33Modified: 04/02/2023 – 07:35

4:24am: US allows seized Russian money to go to Ukraine aid

Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday that he had authorized the United States to begin using seized Russian money to aid Ukraine, according to US media.

The announcement came during a meeting between Garland and Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin in Washington, nearly one year after Moscow’s invasion of its former Soviet neighbour. “Today, I am announcing that I have authorized the first-ever transfer of forfeited Russian assets for use in Ukraine,” Garland said, according to CNN.

The money will come from assets confiscated from Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev after his indictment on sanctions evasions in April, he added. The money will go to the State Department “to support the people of Ukraine,” CNN reported Garland as saying.

Kostin welcomed the move, which he said would see $5.4 million of confiscated assets go toward “rebuilding Ukraine.”

10:49pm: EU, G7, Australia reach deal on price caps for Russian fuel

European Union member states, the Group of Seven industrialized countries and Australia said Friday that they have reached an agreement on price caps for Russian petroleum products, an attempt to target Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key exports and limit his assault on Ukraine.

The caps involve two price levels, $100 per barrel for more expensive fuel like diesel and $45 on lower-quality products such as fuel oil, according to officials. The price caps on those transported products work by establishing a ceiling for the cost of fuel that can be transported on ships.

The EU in December imposed an embargo on Russian crude oil coming in by sea and — together with its G7 partners — set a $60-dollar-per-barrel cap for exports around the world. The second embargo, on Russian fuel, is set to come into force on Sunday or soon after. It targets Russian refined oil products such as petrol, diesel and heating fuel, arriving on ships.

At the same time, the EU and the G7 group of wealthy democracies have also agreed to impose a price cap on Russian shipments of those products to global markets.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)