WASHINGTON.- The United States and its European allies are discussing imposing an oil embargo on Russiaone of the Economic sanctions that could fall on Moscow due to the invasion of Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin, and that until now Western partners have kept in the dark due to the impact it would have on the global economy.
The United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinksaid from Moldova that the government of President Joe Biden has already begun to discuss imposing an embargo on Russian crude oil exports and that they are having “a very active discussion” with their European partners to analyze “in a coordinated manner” the possibility of prohibiting purchases of Russian oil.
“We are talking with our European partners and allies to discuss in a coordinated way the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil while ensuring that there is still an adequate supply of oil on world markets. That’s a very active discussion as we speak,” Blinken said in an interview with CNN.
An oil embargo on Russia is seen by experts as the mother of all sanctions due to the enormous weight of the energy sector in the Russian economy. Oil sales account for about half of Russia’s export earnings, and almost half of the Kremlin’s budget. But, so far, Western governments have opted to keep oil and gas exports out of Western sanctions on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine for fear of a domino effect on the global economy, especially on inflation. .
Indeed, Blinken said part of the discussion was how to ensure there is an “adequate supply” of oil on world markets at a time when fuel prices remain high and the world grapples with inflationary pressures from the crisis. the coronavirus pandemic. In the United States, the average price of a gallon of fuel climbed above $4 this weekend, the highest level since 2008.
To lower the pressure on the price of oil, the Biden administration seeks to ease oil sanctions on the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela, The Wall Street Journal reported. US officials have already had face-to-face meetings with Venezuelan officials in Caracas over the weekend, the newspaper said, with a view to allowing Venezuelan crude to return to the open international market.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has already warned that the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine are “very serious”, emphasizing the increase in the prices of energy, wheat and other grains. Gita Gopinath, the Fund’s number two, said the cost of living is expected to rise “significantly” in many countries due to war.
“The tragic war in Ukraine has significant consequences for the world,” Gopinath said on Twitter. “The cost of living is expected to rise sharply in many countries as energy and food prices soar. Their share of consumption is on average 30 percent and up to 50 percent in Africa. Commodity importers will be especially hard hit,” she added.
Blinken also said they were “actively working” on a deal with Poland to supply Ukraine with aircraft to fight Russia. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has repeatedly called on the West to impose a no-fly zone on Ukraine or give him planes to fight the Russians in the air. Putin said a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be seen as “participation in the armed conflict.”
One of the alternatives under discussion is the possibility of Poland delivering its Russian MiG-29s, with which Ukrainian pilots are familiar, to Ukraine, and the United States then replacing those planes in Warsaw with F-16 fighters.
“We are working with Poland as we speak to see if we can replace anything they provide to the Ukrainians,” Blinken said.
“We are very much in favor of them providing MiG, SU aircraft, which the Ukrainians can fly, to the Ukrainians. But we also want to see if we can be of use, as I said, to make sure that whatever they provide to the Ukrainians, they get something to make up for any breaches in Poland’s security that may result. We are actively talking about it right now,” the US chief diplomat said.