🇪🇺🇷🇺🇮🇷 The Iran war is quietly bailing Russia out of its sanctions.
The EU is considering a temporary freeze on the Russian oil price cap, currently set at $44.10 per barrel.
The mechanism is designed to automatically stay 15% below market rate for Russian Urals crude. A freeze would let that gap close as global oil prices surge from the Iran conflict.
The logic is straightforward: with Iranian supply disrupted and oil prices climbing, the EU can't afford to choke off Russian crude at the same time.
But the consequence is real. The price cap is one of the West's primary tools for limiting Russia's war revenues. Freezing it, even temporarily, means Moscow earns more per barrel while the war in Ukraine continues.
Energy security is winning over geopolitical punishment. And Russia didn't have to do anything to get there.
Source: Bloomberg
