MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree exempting the current contracts with so-called “friendly” countries and companies from his ban on Russian oil sales imposed in response to price caps, according to the government’s website.

Putin in December signed a decree that banned the supply of crude oil and oil products from Feb. 1 to nations that abide by the cap.

The Group of Seven major powers, the European Union and Australia agreed to impose a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil from last Dec. 5 in response to Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.

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Putin on Friday signed amendments to his December decree to exempt current supply contracts with companies and nations who Russia does not consider “unfriendly”.

Russian oil production and exports have held up despite sanctions as the country has rerouted its oil exports to China and India from its traditional supply markets in Europe.