MOSCOW, March 21 (Reuters) - Russia said on Thursday

that the United States was unlikely to agree to a Ukrainian

proposal to lower the price cap on Russian oil to $30 a barrel

but said Washington had for decades tried to use oil as a weapon

against its global rivals.

After Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, the West

sought to sink the Russian economy by imposing a myriad of

sanctions and in 2022 imposed a $60 a barrel price cap on

Russian oil.

President Vladimir Putin says Russia's wartime economy -

which grew 3.6% last year - has thrived despite the sanctions,

and that Russia, the world's second largest oil exporter, has

plenty of buyers for its oil.

"The other day I read that Ukraine was trying to convince

the United States to lower the cap price on Russian oil to $30 a

barrel," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an

interview. "This goes beyond all bounds."

"It is significant that the United States is unlikely to go

along with Ukraine," Lavrov said. He argued that such a lowering

of the cap would have a serious impact on both the global oil

market and on the U.S. economy.

Lavrov also said that China and India will be able to absorb

oil supply from the OPEC+ group of leading oil producers, where

Russia plays an important role.