Reuters: G7 Countries Step Up Sanctions Against Russia

G7 members will unveil a new package of coordinated sanctions against Russia on Tuesday. The major industrialized countries of the world want to put further pressure on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.

Plans for a price cap for Russian oil are also being finalized. That’s what a senior US government official told Reuters news agency.

“The G7 leaders’ twin goals are to directly throttle Russian President Vladimir Putin’s revenues, particularly in the energy sector, but also to reduce the impact of sanctions on the G7 economies and the rest of the world. world,” the official said.

Western countries would like to increase the pressure on Russia with punitive measures, but also face the dilemma that the sanctions will further fuel the already rising inflation in the West. Imposing a price cap for Russian oil could cut Russia’s profits from sales, while at the same time allowing energy prices to fall.

On Sunday, US President Joe Biden already announced that the G7 countries also want to introduce an import ban on Russian gold. An official announcement is reportedly coming Tuesday after the three-day summit in Schloss Elmau, Germany.

A ban on the import of Russian gold is considered by experts mainly as a symbolic step. Gold trade is already being restricted by previously imposed sanctions. In addition, major leading companies in Western countries have already taken steps to curb the trade in Russian gold.

The G7 leaders are also expected to deliver an “unprecedented long-term security commitment to provide Ukraine with financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support for as long as it needs, including the provision of advanced weapons,” the official said.