Russia-Ukraine war: G7 leaders mull untried plan to manipulate oil prices

Leaders of the Group of 7 nations said they would stop buying gold from Moscow and discussed a new American proposal to undercut its oil revenues, even as Russian forces rained missiles on Kyiv for the first time in weeks. 

The dueling escalation underscored how the war in Ukraine has consumed global politics and the world economy.

President Biden and the British government said members of the Group of 7 — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the United States — would move on Tuesday to ban imports of Russian gold. Representatives for the assembled countries were also negotiating toward an agreement to buy Russian oil only at a steep discount.

American officials see both the gold import ban and the possible oil price cap as ways to undercut key sources of revenue for Moscow’s war effort and further isolate it from the international financial system. Such a push was a theme at the meeting, both publicly and behind the scenes, as leaders sought to project solidarity with Ukraine. 

As the fighting in Ukraine grinds into its fifth month, the leaders of Group of 7 countries — the world’s wealthiest large democracies — are seeking to maintain unity against Russia in the face of the war’s growing toll on the global economy. 

Western sanctions intended to create pain for Russia have sent food and energy prices skyrocketing across the world, even as Moscow’s war machine has shown little sign of slowing down.

Russia appeared to be sending a message of defiance to the G7 leaders on Sunday morning, when it unleashed a new round of missiles at an apartment building in Kyiv, killing at least one person. 

The top three floors of the nine-story building were reported destroyed. 

Rescuers were able to pull a 7-year-old girl from the rubble, but her father was killed and her mother, a Russian citizen, was injured, the authorities said.

Before a working lunch meeting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada were overheard by reporters mocking Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, joking that they should take their shirts off — a jab at Mr. Putin’s penchant for horseback riding.

The first step in renewing the group’s solidarity came before the summit formally began, with the announcement of the ban on gold imports from Russia.

US banned oil and gas from Russia, and Europe will prohibit most Russian oil while reducing gas imports by the end of the year. 

The United States, the European Union and their allies have also placed sanctions on Russian officials and other members of the elite and imposed punishments on Russian banks, airlines and other companies.