Russia: Price cap will not affect Ukraine offensive
Published on: Tuesday, December 06, 2022
By: AFP
Moscow: The Kremlin said on Monday that a price cap on Russian oil exports agreed by the European Union, G7 and Australia will not affect Moscow’s military campaign in Ukraine (pic).The $60-per-barrel price cap aims to restrict Russia’s revenue while making sure Moscow keeps supplying the global market.
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“The economy of the Russian Federation has all the necessary potential to fully meet the needs and requirements of the special military operation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, using Moscow’s term for the Ukraine offensive.
“These measures will not affect this,” he said.
He said Russia “will not recognise” the price cap, which amounted to “a step towards destabilising the global energy markets” and would “change” oil prices.
An EU embargo on seaborne deliveries of Russian crude oil comes into effect on Monday. The oil price cap aims to ensure Russia cannot bypass the embargo by selling its oil to third countries at high prices.
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The market price of a barrel of Russian Urals crude is currently around $65 dollars, just slightly higher than the $60 cap agreed, suggesting the measure may have only a limited impact in the short term.
At The Hague, the EU proposed a “specialised court” backed by the UN to prosecute Russia’s “crime of aggression”, in one of the most concrete steps so far.
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But experts warn such a court would face formidable challenges.
The plan would get round the fact that the International Criminal Court (ICC) can investigate war crimes in Ukraine, but cannot try the “leadership” crime of aggression in Russia’s case.
Yet serious questions remain about a special court’s feasibility and legitimacy—let alone about whether the Kremlin or Russian military leaders would ever end up on trial.
“On both legal and practical levels there are considerable obstacles,” Cecily Rose, assistant professor of public international law at Leiden University, told AFP.
The first hurdles involve setting up such a tribunal, which would require global support to prosecute a war fought in Europe.
“Whether those can be overcome depends on the political will of those involved. They are not insurmountable, but it will take effort,” said Oona Hathaway, international law professor at Yale University.
Support was growing globally for Ukraine, as seen when 143 states voted in the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in October to condemn Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine, she said.
The UNGA would likely be the only avenue to back the court proposed by the EU, since Russia would use its permanent seat to veto any UN Security Council involvement.
But support could be limited for a tribunal that only involved European states or a regional organisation like the EU “as it sends the wrong message about the crime of aggression”, said Hathaway.
The next problem would involve arresting suspects when the crime of aggression is limited to top political leaders.
Russia has said any Ukraine tribunal would lack legitimacy.
Rose said such a court would “have trouble securing custody over accused persons who are current or former high-level leaders, such as Putin”.
Putin and top-level officials would likely be immune from prosecution, at least while they are in office and maybe later too.
The Netherlands has already volunteered to host a Russia tribunal.
The ICC is probing war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine even though Russia is not a member, as Kyiv has accepted its jurisdiction.
A special rule says the ICC does not have jurisdiction over aggression in the case of non-members.
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