The President of the United States, Joe Biden, announced this Tuesday (03.08.2022) the ban on US imports of oil and gas from Russia due to the invasion of Ukraine. “It means that Russian oil will not be accepted in US ports,” Biden said in a White House speech, with which he intends to “deal another heavy blow” to President Vladimir Putin.
This decision was made “in close coordination” with US allies, he said. “We will not help subsidize Putin’s war.” In fact, the United Kingdom also announced that it will stop importing Russian oil and oil derivatives at the end of 2022. However, for the moment, Europe refuses to impose an embargo on these Russian imports, which cover 40% of its oil needs. natural gas and 30% oil.
“We can make this decision, while others cannot,” Biden explained. “But we are working closely with Europe and our partners to put in place a long-term strategy to reduce their dependence on Russian energy.” “The United States produces much more crude domestically than all European countries combined,” said the US president.
“We remain united in our intention to maintain increasing pressure on Putin and his war machine,” added the US head of state. Russian oil represents only 8% of US imports and 4% of consumption of petroleum products in the United States, which does not import Russian gas.
Biden further stated that Russia will never be able to control all of Ukraine. “Russia can continue to advance at a horrible price, but this much is already clear: Ukraine will never be a victory for Putin,” he said. And he insisted: “Putin may be able to take a city, but he will never be able to control the country.”
lgc (afp / efe)
