The G7, the European Union and Australia imposed the $60 per barrel cap last December on sea-borne exports of Russian crude in retaliation for Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Two more countries - Zimbabwe and Ethiopia - have signed agreements with Russia to cooperate on the peaceful use of nuclear technology on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum, which has been taking place in St Petersburg.

Leading Russian companies, including LUKOIL and Yandex, operate effectively in the republic. Rosatom plans to launch a number of large projects. There is no doubt that trade and economic cooperation has significant growth potential.

Mitsui joined the Arctic LNG 2 project in 2019 via a subsidiary called Japan Arctic LNG, which secured substantial financial support from state-owned Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) as part of wider Japanese efforts to ensure stable LNG supply and diversify import sources.

Brent fell 42 cents, or 0.5%, to $83.82 a barrel, WTI fell 34 cents, or 0.4%, to $79.75 a barrel.

Brent rose 63 cents to $80.27 a barrel, WTI climbed 62 cents to $76.27 a barrel.

Brent had added 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $81.41 per barrel, WTI rose 9 cents, or 0.1%, to $76.98.

According to price reporting agency Argus Media, Urals crude topped $60 a barrel on Wednesday, climbing above the cap that the Group of Seven set last year in an attempt to restrict revenue to Moscow’s war machine.

The central bank still expects a current account surplus of $47 billion this year and $38 billion in 2024. On Tuesday, it said in a statement that Russia’s worsening trade balance was caused by a decrease in export volumes as well as the decline in prices mainly for energy exports.

The Paks II project was launched in 2014 by an inter-governmental agreement between Hungary and Russia for two VVER-1200 reactors (units 5&6) to be supplied by Rosatom.