EU Has No Plans to Impose Price Cap on Russian Gas in Near Future - Source

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) - The European Union has no plans to impose a price cap on Russian gas in the near future and is not even discussing the issue at the supranational level, an EU source told Sputnik.

"The embargo to the Russian gas imports, in the same format as the oil embargo EU imposed as part of its restrictive [measures] against Russia, is out of the question," the source said.

Though some member states are discussing the price cap on Russian gas imports, there are no such talks at the level of the union, according to the source.

"There is no intention by the [European] Commission to push for such a decision in the near future, so those talks are only exploratory talks at this stage," the source added.

Western countries rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign against Russia after it launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, with the EU pledging to end its dependence on Russian energy supplies.

The European Union earlier placed a price cap of $60 per barrel on Russia crude oil on December 5, a move which later prompted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov to detail that Russian President Vladimir Putin would sign a decree on retaliatory measures.

The bloc has already approved eight packages of sanctions against Moscow and agreed in principle on the ninth. In addition to the price cap for Russian crude oil that went into effect on December 5, the eighth package provided for a ceiling for Russian refined products starting from February 5, 2023.