The adviser to the head of the Presidential Office Mikhail Podolyak, in his statement on January 3, emphasized the need to change the approach to counteracting the oil income of Russia. Previous sanctions, including the introduction of a "price ceiling", were ineffective. Although the restrictions for some time were allowed to contain the cost of Russian oil at a level below $ 60 per barrel, the Kremlin found ways to bypass sanctions through shadow schemes.
According to Podolyak, oil from Russia is currently exported with the help of a "shadow fleet" of tankers with a fictitious insurance. In this case, a major problem is the impunity of buyers that exceed the established price limit.
Particularly advantageous is the situation for individual countries in Asia, which process Russian raw materials and sell the petroleum products received to Europe and the US. This approach allows them to be enriched, without violating formal sanctions.
Podolyak emphasizes that it is necessary to strengthen control over oil transportation, insurance of ships and financing of trading operations. Only a comprehensive approach to the sanction mechanism will be able to break the situation and reduce the Kremlin's oil profits that finance the war against Ukraine.
At the same time, the adviser to the head of OP emphasized that it is extremely important to involve China and India in the abandonment of "gray" schemes of trade in Russian oil. This task, according to him, lies on the shoulders of diplomats that should convince these countries of the benefits of cooperation on transparent conditions.
Although sanctions are never one hundred percent impenetrable, the reduction of the Kremlin's income from oil sales will significantly affect Russia's economy. This, according to Podolyak, will accelerate the end of the war against Ukraine. He also noted that even belated decisions at this stage will still benefit.
