According to Moscow, Europeans will be the first to “suffer” from the oil embargo.

LEuropean consumers are the first to be affected by this decision. Not only oil prices but also petroleum products will go up. I do not rule out the possibility of a major shortage of petroleum products in the EU. ”Alexander Novak said in an interview aired on Russian television.

The European Union on Monday announced a 90% ban on Russia’s oil by the end of the year, raising fears of a deficit. Novak dismissed the threat posed to Russia by the move: “This is a deferral decision, which is six to eight months. At this point the market needs to restructure itself.”

After months of waiting despite the price hike due to the conflict in Ukraine, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies moved a gear on Thursday to increase their oil production. Emergency calls from Westerners.

Novak represented Russia for many years at the OPEC, first as Minister of Energy and later as Senior Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. Within the so-called “OPEC +” informal alliance, Russia and the OPEC succeeded in jointly controlling their distribution by the end of 2016, representing half of the planet’s total production, allowing them to regain control of the market’s destabilizing oil.

Although it was a storm in subsequent years, regular meetings began. “In my opinion and in the opinion of the participants in today’s cabinet meeting, the market is very balanced. We see that the total increase in demand this year will be about 3.5 to 4 million barrels per day.Novak said this following the OPEC + meeting that Russia sidelined on Thursday.

He said OPEC +’s action was taken to support the growing demand. “We see an increase in demand over the summer, with the operation of oil refineries increasing, the consumption of petroleum products increasing due to more active road travel and air traffic.” Increased, said. Before concluding by saying that “(OPEC +) results will balance markets and ensure a balance between supply and demand”.

He also expects demand to increase in China, where corona virus control measures are still in place. “The Importance of Continuing Contact (Russia)” And “Monitor the situation on a monthly basis”.