Russia plans rare fuel imports to stabilize market: Kremlin

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Russia is negotiating to import fuel from abroad to stabilize the domestic market, a rare step for the energy giant that last relied on large-scale foreign purchases during the economic turmoil of the 1990s.

Import negotiations

Speaking to reporters in Moscow, Peskov said authorities were discussing potential imports with several unnamed countries. "If agreements are reached on imports at acceptable prices, then it will happen," he said, adding that such purchases would help reduce surging demand. He declined to specify which nations were involved, stating: "For understandable reasons, we will not talk about that."

Government response

The official noted that Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak was overseeing a government commission tasked with stabilizing the fuel market following a meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin on Sunday. Peskov referred questions regarding specific measures to the government but declined to comment on media reports suggesting some refineries had been permitted to produce Euro-5 fuel using Euro-3 standards.

Historical precedent

Large-scale gasoline imports into Russia were last recorded in the 1990s, when the country purchased more than 2 million metric tons annually to address domestic shortages, according to UN data. In subsequent decades, imports became sporadic and minor, limited largely to premium-grade gasoline as domestic production expanded.