The Treasury Department says it is working with allies to create a buyer's cartel to pay less for Russian crude

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday talks are continuing with allies to further restrict Russia's energy revenues by imposing a price cap on the country's oil.

"We are continuing to have productive conversations, today and with our partners and allies around the world with how to further restrict energy revenues to Russia while preventing spillover effects to the global economy," Yellen said during a press conference in Toronto alongside Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland.

"We are talking about price caps or a price exception that would enhance and strengthen recent and proposed energy restrictions by Europe, the United States, the UK and others, that would push down the price of Russian oil and depress Putin's revenues, while allowing more oil supply to reach the global market," she explained.

The United States, Canada, the UK and some other countries have banned imports of Russian oil, while the EU, which remains highly dependent on Russian energy supplies, agreed on a partial block by the end of 2022.

According to a recent report by the International Energy Agency, Russia has already earned 50% more in revenues so far this year compared to the same period in 2021. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov earlier said that Western sanctions would have no effect on the country's oil exports and predicted a big jump in profits from energy shipments this year.

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(RT.com)