Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) - (AFP) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday threatened Western countries to "cut production" of Russian oil "if necessary", days after the European Union, G7 countries and Australia set a ceiling for the price of a barrel of Russian oil at $60. .

"We will consider the possibility of cutting production if necessary," Putin said during a press conference in Bishkek on the sidelines of a regional summit.
He considered that the mechanism put in place by the West and began to be applied at the beginning of the week was a "stupid decision".

He assured reporters that "the imposed ceiling (at $60) is commensurate with the price we are selling based on today. In this direction, this does not affect us at all."

The price of a barrel of Russian oil (crude from the Urals) is currently hovering around $65, just above the European ceiling, which implies very limited impact in the short term.

And the Russian president believed that for the countries importing Russian oil, "pursuing this harmful (non-market) solution will be foolish for everyone."

He pointed out that such a mechanism "means everyone... because if one party accepts once that the consumer sets the price, this will lead to the collapse of the (oil) sector, because the consumer will always insist that the price be the lowest possible."

"We will not be losers under any circumstances," he stressed.

And the 27 member states of the European Union, the Group of Seven and Australia agreed last week to set a ceiling for the price of Russian oil transported by sea at $ 60 a barrel, and this ceiling began to be applied on Monday. The aim of this measure is to reduce Moscow's revenues to finance its military offensive in Ukraine.

Thus, the oil that Moscow sells can continue to be delivered at a price equal to or less than $60. In the event that the price is higher than this ceiling, companies will be prohibited from providing services that allow marine transportation (ships, insurance...).