Ukraine (bbabo.net), - The European Union officially confirmed the adoption of a decision on the introduction of a price ceiling for oil supplied from Russia by sea, which should be officially approved over the weekend and will enter into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU. The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU announced this on Friday on Twitter. The EU has agreed on a ceiling of $60 per barrel, complete with a corrective mechanism that would require the price of Russian oil imports to be at least 5% below market prices. “The [27 EU] ambassadors have just reached an agreement on a price cap for Russian oil transported by sea. A written procedure will follow, the decision will enter into force after publication in the Official Journal of the EU,” the Presidency said in a statement. The written procedure in the Council of the EU is formal, approval takes place without additional discussion. The G-7, which initially came up with the initiative to impose a price ceiling on Russian oil, intends to put this measure into effect on Monday, December 5.

The United States administration supports the West's $60-a-barrel cap on Russian oil, which will be adjusted if the targets are not met. This was announced on Friday by the chief economist of the State Department, Emily Blanchard. At a briefing at the US Foreign Office for foreign press, she said that the United States and the "international coalition", which includes the G7, the EU, Australia, are working to reduce the income of the Russian Federation, which go to a special military operation in Ukraine, as well as to prevent a global energy crisis. “$60 is the best level for coalition partners to achieve these two goals in the near term. It should be noted that the mechanism for limiting the price of oil was deliberately created to be flexible. If the targets are not met, then the price cap level can be adjusted over time to make sure we hit them. I am optimistic that all of this will work and look forward to the implementation of the price cap mechanism,” Blanchard said. “It is specially provided that this mechanism be flexible, due to the fact that we do not care about the instrument of setting the marginal price. We care about the tasks, the goals for which the marginal price level is intended. And so the agility and flexibility of the price itself is what is absolutely necessary to achieve our two goals, ”added the economist.

The G7 countries and Australia confirm their intention to phase out crude oil products of Russian origin in their domestic markets, the coalition said in a statement released Friday evening. “We reaffirm our intention to phase out crude oil products of Russian origin in our domestic markets. This obligation remains unchanged after the introduction of the price cap policy. Instead, the price cap policy aims to allow our service providers to support the supply of Russian crude oil and petroleum products to other countries, which will ensure a stable supply of energy resources while limiting the income of the Russian Federation, ”the statement says. The G7 countries also called on non-coalition states importing Russian oil to join the policy of limiting its marginal cost. In their opinion, "this is in the economic interests" of these countries.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said that thanks to the actions of the organization's employees, the agreement between Moscow and Kyiv on a safe zone around the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant (ZAES) is becoming more acceptable. This was reported on December 2 by Bloomberg. "We're getting closer to what might be acceptable," Grossi was quoted as saying by the agency. The IAEA director added that he expects to hold meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky in the near future. As Grossi noted, these meetings will help move forward the negotiations on a safe zone around the ZNPP. He also said that the agency currently does not have information about the possible withdrawal of the Russian Armed Forces from the ZNPP territory.The Russian side informed the IAEA about the appointment of Yury Chernichuk as director of the Zaporizhzhya NPP. This was reported to a TASS correspondent by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, who is taking part in the Mediterranean Dialogues international conference in Rome on Friday. “Yes, we were informed, the Ukrainian side also has an appointment, so there is a contradiction there,” he said. On Thursday, the former chief engineer of Zaporizhzhya NPP Chernichuk became the first deputy general director of JSC "Operating Organization of Zaporizhzhya NPP" - director of ZNPP. In an appeal to the station staff, the text of which was at the disposal of TASS, Chernichuk noted that he had made a decision in the interests of the station, the staff and Energodar.

More than a thousand Ukrainian military personnel are already being trained as part of the EU-created mission to assist the Ukrainian army, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Josep Borrell said. “The EU Assistance Mission to Ukraine has reached full operational capacity. 1,100 soldiers are already being trained,” Borrell wrote on Twitter. According to Borrell, who visited the location of the mission in Poland, the Europeans will train the military in accordance with the needs of the Ukrainian army. He also said that the EU has allocated an additional 16 million euros for the purchase of lethal weapons in order to train the military. In mid-November, EU foreign ministers officially announced the launch of a training mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian military personnel. Its duration is expected to be two years. The mission is engaged not only in training, but also in arming the Ukrainian military.

The countries of Europe would have faced problems in defense without the support of the United States. This was announced on Friday, December 2, by Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin at a press conference at the Lowy Institute in Australia. “And I'll be brutally honest with you: Europe isn't strong enough. We would have problems without the United States, ”The Guardian quoted her as saying. According to Marin, European countries need to strengthen their defense capabilities. This need has increased against the backdrop of the Ukrainian conflict, the politician added. On October 11, it became known that the United States advised the European Union to invest in its own defense, as Washington's attention could soon switch completely to the Asia-Pacific region. It is noted that the armies of the EU countries are "chronically underfunded." On September 24, it was reported that the European Commission is seeking to take advantage of increased military spending to develop its military industry, but this will not be easy.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley, who attended a meeting of foreign ministers of NATO member countries in Bucharest this week, said that the alliance does not see Russian President Vladimir Putin's serious readiness to negotiate a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. “At the moment, the atmosphere that I caught [at the] NATO meeting is that Vladimir Putin is not really acting in good faith,” Cleverly said. “The message that I got, which is very similar to what I was saying, is that if this (settlement) is not done right, then it is basically not done,” the minister said in an interview published on Friday evening. on The Daily Telegraph website. At the same time, he added that it was “very hard” for him to talk about the possibility of peace talks next year.

bbabo.Net