US moves against oil tankers unacceptable, says Russia

Moscow: US plans to further curb operations of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet" of oil tankers are unacceptable, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

The United States and its allies are weighing additional sanctions and could act further to increase Russia's cost of using a shadow fleet of tankers to evade a Group of Seven countries' cap on the Russian oil price.

"We decisively condemn introduction of price caps, restrictions on oil sales, attempts to set up buyers' cartels and demands to lower the prices", Zakharova said during a weekly briefing.

The fleet of ageing tankers has helped Moscow transport Russian cargoes as well as oil from Iran and Venezuela, countries also contending with Western sanctions.

The G7 group of industrialised nations approved a price cap of $60 per barrel for Russian oil after Washington lobbied to curb the Kremlin's revenue amid the conflict with Ukraine while keeping Russian oil flowing to avoid an energy price spike.