The White House lowers expectations of a veto on Russian oil

The White House on Thursday lowered expectations of banning the global import of Russian oil in response to the Ukraine invasion because it would raise gasoline prices in the United States and the rest of the world.

This was stated by the Government Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, after the president of the United States House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, asked this Thursday for a global ban on the import of Russian oil in retaliation against Moscow.

“We have no strategic interest in reducing global energy supply because it would drive up gas prices for Americans and there would be less supply”, said Psaki, who however did not completely close the door on a future ban.

The White House spokeswoman stressed that the interest of the US Government is “maximize impact” of the economic sanctions on the president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and “minimize it” about the Americans and their allies.

He claimed that Western allies have already taken steps to “degrade” to Russia as a supplier of energy by blocking the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, in addition to the fact that liquefied natural gas is being sent to Europe for “to diversify” their energy sources and not depend so much on Moscow.

US President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the ban on US imports of Russian oil is not “off the table.”

Just 7% of US imports of crude oil and refined petroleum products came from Russia in 2020, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

However, oil prices have already risen in the United States due to the refusal of some refiners to buy crude from Russia for fear of US sanctions, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the European Union imports 41% of its natural gas and 27% of its oil from Russia, according to Eurostat.