International
G7 to implement Russian oil price cap ‘urgently’
AFP | by Sebastien ASH
G7 industrialised powers vowed Friday to move urgently towards implementing a price cap on Russian oil imports in a bid to cut off a major source of funding for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The G7 said it was working towards a “broad coalition” of support for the measure but officials in France urged caution, saying a final decision could only be taken once all 27 members of the European Union had given their assent.
Households on the continent have borne the brunt of rising energy prices, with governments under pressure to alleviate the pain of the resulting high inflation.
“Russia is benefitting economically from the uncertainty on energy markets caused by the war and is making big profits from the export of oil and we want to counter that decisively,” German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said in a press conference after the move was announced.
The aim of the price cap on oil exports was to “stop an important source of financing for the war of aggression and contain the rise in global energy prices”, he added.
Ahead of Friday’s decision, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov sounded a clear warning.
The adoption of a price cap “will lead to a significant destabilisation of the oil markets,” and force American and European consumers to pay the price, he said.
And Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had warned on Thursday that Moscow would “simply not supply oil and petroleum products to companies or states that impose restrictions,” according to Russian news agencies.
‘Powerful tool’
At a summit in June, the G7 leaders agreed to work towards implementing the ceiling on crude sales.
In their statement, finance ministers from the G7 said they would “urgently work on the finalisation and implementation” of the long-considered measure, without specifying the cap level.
The price cap was “one of the most powerful tools we have to fight inflation and protect workers and businesses in the United States”, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement Friday.
She said the measure already was beginning to influence prices, with countries that have not yet committed to join the cap able to negotiate lower prices from Russia.
“We’re already seeing this initiative pay off because countries that are buying Russian oil are signing deals with Russia to sell oil at greatly discounted prices,” Yellen said on MSNBC.
She said the capped price “will be set at a level that will continue to make it profitable for Russia to produce,” rather than follow through on Moscow’s threat to shut-in their oil and keep it off world markets.
The G7 move would block Russia from getting any kind of service, including maritime insurance, on its petroleum shipments unless the product is sold at or below the cap, she explained.
And Yellen noted that G7 countries provide the vast majority of such services, including maritime insurance, 90 percent of which come from Britain and the EU.
A senior US Treasury official told reporters that the cap would include three prices, one for crude oil and two for refined petroleum products.
The French finance ministry said technical work on the price cap was still in progress.
“It is clear that no final decision can be taken until we have consulted and obtained unanimous support from all 27 member states of the European Union,” it said.
“We support all measures that reduce the income that Russia derives from the sale of oil,” French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire added.
EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the bloc aims to find a deal by December 5 for crude oil and February 5 for petroleum products.
‘Broad coalition’
The G7 also voiced ambition to extend the measure beyond the bloc, saying it was seeking to form a “broad coalition” of support for the oil price cap to “maximise” the effectiveness of the measure.
The ministers urged “all countries that still seek to import Russian oil and petroleum products to commit to doing so only at prices at or below the price cap”.
The push to get as many countries as possible to go along with the cap is expected to be a key topic for discussion by leaders at the G20 summit in Bali on November 15 and 16.
The initial cap would be set “at a level based on a range of technical inputs” the G7 ministers said, adding that its effectiveness would be “closely monitored”.
Analysts warned, however, that the cap may yet fuel another rise in prices.
The cap would introduce new risks for the oil market by “potentially disrupting Russian energy supplies”, Capital Economics analyst Liam Perch said in June. “This could push global energy prices up further.”
International
María Corina Machado: “Venezuela is closer than ever to regaining freedom”
Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado declared on Friday that Venezuela is facing “the most decisive moment in its contemporary history” and that the country is “closer than ever to regaining freedom and democracy.”
Her remarks were delivered via video message during the 81st General Assembly of the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), held in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Machado emphasized that the situation in Venezuela remains “extremely serious” due to censorship and repression imposed by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, particularly in a global context where “society is built on information.”
She warned that authoritarian governments manipulate public opinion through “psychological warfare” and disinformation, while shutting down media outlets and persecuting journalists.
“The only way to topple these regimes is through the constant, relentless, and unrestricted preaching of the truth. It is absolutely true that the truth will set us free,” she stated.
International
Millions to join “No Kings” march in U.S. amid Trump’s growing authoritarian backlash
Millions of Americans are set to take to the streets this Saturday in more than 2,500 cities across the United States for the second edition of the “No Kings” march, a massive protest organized by progressive groups and activists against what they describe as the authoritarian direction of President Donald Trump’s second administration.
The demonstration, expected to be the largest since Trump’s return to power, comes amid a federal government shutdown, further heightening political tensions in Washington.
From the White House, press secretary Abigail Jackson dismissed the event with a brief “Who cares?”, while senior Republican leaders labeled the march as an act of “hate against America.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson accused Democrats of blocking negotiations to reopen the government and claimed they were “unable to stand up to their raging base.” He also linked the protests to “supporters of Hamas and the Antifa terrorist group.”
President Donald Trump, in an interview with Fox News, blamed Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer for the legislative deadlock.
“He’s got nothing else left to do. Everyone’s hitting him hard,” Trump said.
The organizers — a coalition of Democratic leaders and more than 200 civil society and labor groups — argue that the Republican refusal to reopen the government is a clear symptom of the authoritarianism they seek to denounce.
The main rally will take place in Washington, D.C., which has been under heightened National Guard surveillance for weeks, officially to control rising crime. However, organizers contend the deployment is aimed at intimidating and silencing dissent.
Protesters have been urged to wear yellow, a reference to the 2019 pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong.
“With this color, we align ourselves with a historical context and remind the world that power must come from the people, not from crowns,” organizers stated on their website.
In addition to the capital, large marches are scheduled in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Honolulu, as well as abroad in London, Paris, Frankfurt, and several Spanish cities — Madrid (Puerta del Sol), Barcelona (Plaça Sant Jaume), Seville (Plaza Nueva), and Málaga (Plaza de la Marina).
During the first edition, held in June, the movement gathered around five million people, a figure organizers expect to surpass this weekend.
International
Petro expresses concern over fatal shooting during mass protests in Lima
Colombian President Gustavo Petro voiced his “concern” on Thursday over recent events in Peru, following the death of a protester reportedly shot during a massive demonstration in Lima against the government and Congress.
“I must express my concern over the events in Peru. A young artist has been killed in citizens’ protests,” Petro wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Colombian leader also noted that in Peru, “a popularly elected president remains imprisoned without conviction,” referring to Pedro Castillo, who led the country from July 2021 to December 2022 until he was removed by Congress following a failed attempted coup.
“This is a blatant violation of the American Convention on Human Rights,” Petro stated, adding, “I hope Peru seeks social and political dialogue to legitimize its public institutions.”
On Wednesday, Peru experienced widespread protests in several cities, with the largest demonstration in Lima in recent years, driven by citizens’ concerns over corruption and public insecurity.
During the capital’s mobilization, the Ombudsman’s Office confirmed the death of Eduardo Ruiz, 32, and reported clashes that left over 100 injured, including 78 police officers and 24 protesters, as well as ten arrests.
The Attorney General’s Office, investigating Ruiz’s death “in the context of serious human rights violations,” confirmed that the protester was shot.
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