US says Russian oil price cap does not involve ships through Turkish waters

ISTANBUL

A US official said Wednesday that the oil price cap imposed on Russia does not involve ships navigating through Turkish waters.

The Treasury Department said Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo spoke with Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and discussed Russia's war against Ukraine and the implementation of the price cap on Russian seaborne oil, which will limit Moscow’s key source of revenue while stabilizing global energy markets.

Adeyemo highlighted the fact that "the price cap regime only applies to oil of Russian origin and does not necessitate additional checks on ships passing through Turkish territorial waters," according to a statement.

Both officials highlighted their shared interest in keeping global energy markets well-supplied by creating a simple compliance regime that would permit seaborne oil to transit the Turkish straits, it added.

EU member countries agreed Friday on a $60 per barrel cap for Russian crude oil exports transported by sea, aiming to hit Moscow's revenues from crude oil exports and sales during Russia's war against Ukraine.

While the White House quickly welcomed the cap, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation Wednesday with his United Arab Emirates counterpart Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to discuss OPEC+ cooperation and the cap restriction.

Russian authorities in the past two weeks have been considering three possible responses to the price cap, according to media reports.