By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Germany’s concerns regarding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the Belarusian capital Minsk are “absolutely absurd,” the Kremlin said on Sunday.
“An absolutely absurd concern, because contacts between the closest allies, and Russia and Belarus are closest allies, should not be of any concern to anyone. Because they (contacts) are not geared against anyone but are maintained in the interests of mutual benefit," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Rossiya-1 broadcaster.
On Monday, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said during a news briefing that Berlin was “concerned” about Putin’s visit to Minsk, as this may change the role of Belarus in Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine and potentially increase Minsk’s aid to Moscow.
Peskov denied the claims soon after Hebestreit’s briefing, calling them “absolutely stupid, unfounded fabrications."
Putin traveled to Minsk for a one-day visit on the same day along with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, among other officials, during which he outlined economic cooperation as a "priority" in relations between Russia and Belarus.
- ‘Russia will not agree to any price cap’
Peskov also said that Russia will never agree to any price cap for its oil and gas resources, with the principle of not allowing interference in “processes of market pricing.”
“Despite the fact that the limits are set rather high, it is a matter of principle. It is an interference with market pricing processes. And if today we accept this generous limit, tomorrow we will have to accept a limit infringing upon our interests. That is why it is out of the question. We will never accept such distortion and destruction of the market pricing process," he said.
On Monday, EU energy ministers agreed on a gas price cap of €180 ($190) per megawatt/hour (MWh) in the bloc.
On Dec. 1, the EU agreed to impose an embargo on seaborne imports of Russian crude oil starting on Dec. 5, the same day that the EU and G-7 agreed to place an oil price cap of $60 per barrel on Russian crude.
The ban on petroleum products will come into effect as of Feb. 5, corresponding to 90% of Russia's current oil imports.
Russia has been hit with successive waves of international sanctions since the beginning of the war in Ukraine earlier this year, including travel and trade restrictions, asset freezes, and a price cap on its oil exports.
On Thursday, Putin said he would next week sign a decree on "precautionary" measures in response to the oil price cap.