US wants to drag Seoul into new oil cartel, foreign ministry says

MOSCOW, 7 Sep — PRIME. Washington wants to drag South Korea into a “cartel” that sets a ceiling on oil prices from Russia, director of the First Asia Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry Georgy Zinoviev said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“We are aware of Washington’s attempts to drag Seoul into the “cartel of buyers” of Russian oil, which, according to the US plan, will be able to set a price ceiling on it. Seoul’s joining this initiative will lead to serious negative consequences, primarily for the economy of the Republic of Korea itself,” — he noted.

Zinoviev added that Russia would not supply oil at a loss, and as a result, South Korean partners would purchase it not cheaper, but more expensive, and very likely much more expensive.

“We hope that Seoul understands this and will not create unnecessary problems for itself,” the diplomat stressed.

Moscow would like to minimize the damage from US-imposed sanctions in its relations with Seoul, Zinoviev said.

“At the current stage, we consider the financial measures in force against the Republic of Korea as a state that commits unfriendly actions against Russia to be sufficient and proportionate. The decision to tighten them will be made in the event of further escalation from the South Korean side,” he said.

“At the same time, we proceed from the fact that Seoul, like Moscow, is determined to avoid the development of events according to a negative scenario, to minimize the damage from the sanctions imposed by Washington on the potential for cooperation with our country accumulated over the past three decades in practical areas,” the diplomat added.

He drew attention to the fact that “in favor of the development of practical cooperation upon arrival in Russia, the new Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Chan Ho Jin, spoke out.”

Read the full text of the interview at ria.ru at 9.00 Moscow time.