Joe Biden prohibits imports of oil and gas from Russia to the US for war in Ukraine

The president of the United States, Joe Biden, announced a new veto on imports of oil, gas and energy from Russia, in response to the invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.

In a press conference from the White House, the US president assured that the ban on US imports of Russian energy has the support of Democrats and Republicans.

“It means that Russian oil will not be accepted in US ports,” Joe Biden stressed about the new sanction for Russia.

He pointed out that they have decided to adopt this ban, despite the fact that many of the European allies are not in a position to join the measure, because “the United States produces much more crude domestically than all the European countries combined.”

In fact, he added, “we are a net exporter of energy, so we can take a step that others cannot, but we are working closely with Europe and our partners to develop a longer-term strategy to reduce dependence on Russian energy.”

US imports of oil from Russia account for about 8% of the total, while in the European case it is 27%, according to official data.

Despite these words, Biden acknowledged in his speech that “defending democracy” in the face of the Russian invasion of Ukraine will entail “costs” for Americans, referring to the notable increase in fuel prices in recent days.

“Defending democracy is going to imply costs, and it is going to imply costs for us as well,” he warned.

In this regard, he announced that he will do everything possible to minimize the increase in energy prices in the United States.

Biden listed a series of steps his administration has taken to this end, in coordination with allies, such as the release of 60 million barrels of crude oil from joint oil reserves, and warned oil companies that he will not tolerate benefit from the current situation by inflating prices.

“We are approaching record levels of oil and gas production in the United States,” he said.

Biden considered that this crisis serves as a reminder of the importance of the USA being independent of an energy point of view. “It should motivate us to accelerate the transition to clean energy,” he said.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was on Monday in favour of the international community approving the cancellation of Russian oil purchases.

The ban on energy imports from Russia by the USA adds to the economic sanctions recently adopted against Moscow in coordination with European partners, including the restriction of the international operations of the Russian central bank and the suspension of certain Russian banks from the system international SWIFT.