In remarks on the sidelines of the Valdai Discussion Club annual meeting, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak stated: “Initially, when the price cap was introduced [by U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen], we said that this was a non-working tool, a tool that only made things worse for consumers, for the entire market. Today we see that Brent prices have increased, the discount has decreased, and our products are sold above the price cap, at market prices. It is clear that such instruments only make things worse. The worst thing is that they create a precedent so that in the future [it] could be used not only against Russian energy resources, but also against other countries, as well as against other products. I hope that now everyone is convinced that this concocted tool is ineffective and mainly hurts the end consumer.”