The United States has been hesitant to respond to Putin’s aggression ahead of its European allies. While a US oil embargo would have some effect, doing so in collaboration with Europe would have far greater impact. Europe imports 4 million barrels of Russian oil per day, compared to the US’s 700,000 barrels per day.
Until now, the West’s economic strangulation of Russia over its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has avoided the country’s robust energy sector, with administration officials warning that such a move could weaken the global economy.
However, as Russia continues to bombard Ukrainian cities, political pressure on the West has grown to do more to put pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the onslaught. According to US officials, the Biden administration is considering loosening restrictions on Venezuelan oil imports to fill the void left by Russian oil bans, a politically risky step. It has also attempted to persuade Saudi Arabia, which has been chastised by US and European officials for its human rights record, to increase oil production.
The official White House readout of Biden’s conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not explicitly state that they discussed a ban on Russian energy.
“The leaders affirmed their determination to continue raising the costs on Russia for its unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” according to the White House. They also reaffirmed their commitment to continue providing Ukraine with security, economic, and humanitarian assistance.”
Psaki also stated that administration officials are debating whether the US would send military aircraft to Poland if its leaders sent Soviet-era bombers to support Ukraine, but she added that the White House was not “preventing, blocking, or discouraging” officials from doing so. That is, they are a sovereign country, and they make their own decisions, but it is not as simple as simply moving planes,” she explained.
Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said in an interview with CNN on Sunday that the administration was looking into the “prospect” of an energy ban “in a coordinated way” with allies, though he did not rule out the possibility of Washington acting unilaterally to ban Russian oil.
