The economist assessed the impact of a possible lowering of the "ceiling" of oil prices from the Russian Federation

A possible lowering of the "ceiling" of Russian oil prices will not have a serious impact on the Russian economy. Maxim Chirkov, Associate Professor of the Department of Political Economics at Moscow State University, said this in an interview with Izvestia on May 15.

On May 16, the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said that the European Union could lower the ceiling on Russian oil prices and strengthen sanctions against the Russian financial sector.

According to the economist, Russian oil prices are currently lower than the current limit of $60 per barrel. He clarified that there is currently a period of low oil prices in general, so a possible reduction in the limit will have little impact on the Russian economy.

Chirkov recalled that the introduction of a ceiling on Russian oil prices had not had much impact on the Russian economy before. During the many months of the price ceiling of $60 per barrel, the average price of Russian oil exceeded this value, the expert noted.

"Russia has opportunities to interact with friendly countries. When market prices are higher, Russian oil prices consistently exceed the price ceiling set by Western countries, so to speak," he said.

Chirkov called China and India economies with high purchasing power parity.

He explained that when the price ceiling is lowered, the price of oil decreases only temporarily, but in general, the market is leveling off the imbalances over the next few months.

"Oil, which is cheaper, is becoming more in demand, and the price is rising anyway. It would probably be better to avoid these sanctions confrontations, but this price ceiling does not have a serious impact on the Russian economy," Chirkov said.

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On the same day, it was reported that the European Union (EU) countries are considering an initiative to impose a full trade embargo against Russia. According to the Politico newspaper, the initiative will be discussed on May 16 at a meeting of the European Political Community in the Albanian capital Tirana.

On May 14, the European Union agreed on the 17th package of anti-Russian sanctions. Euractiv portal, citing diplomats, reported that Hungary and Slovakia supported the new package of sanctions due to its relative weakness. Von der Leyen clarified that it included 189 tankers that allegedly transport Russian oil under the flags of various states.