US President Joe Biden said on Thursday at the NATO summit in Madrid that the West will apply an embargo on insuring ships transporting Russian oil to further pressure Moscow.
“We and the West will not provide insurance to Russian ships for the transportation of oil, so they will have huge problems in delivering it to customers,” he said.
In the event of an insurance ban, foreign companies will no longer be permitted to transport oil from Russia by sea, or to insure such shipments.
Biden also expressed confidence that Russia would find it difficult to maintain oil production due to limited access to technologies amid Western sanctions. According to the US president, the mechanism of price caps would also limit Moscow’s revenue from oil exports.
The US and its allies have been looking for ways to curb rising energy prices, and are exploring the feasibility of introducing price caps on Russian oil imports. Washington has reportedly suggested lifting sanctions on insurance for ships that transport Russian oil, only if countries agree to buy it at a settled maximum price, thus enforcing a price cap.
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