The announcement represents a departure from Biden’s foreign policy strategy: for the US to sanction Putin in complete lockstep with its NATO allies. He said the US could move forward with such a ban given it is less reliant on Russian energy compared to other European nations, but insisted the West remained united in its purpose against Putin.
“We can take this step when others cannot,” Biden said of his decision. “We’re working closely with Europe and our partners to develop a long-term strategy to reduce their dependence on Russian energy as well.”
Britain cuts oil
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.Credit:Bloomberg
America receives less than 10 per cent of its energy resources from Russia. By comparison, according to the International Energy Agency, the EU imported around 45 per cent of its gas from Russia in 2021, while the year before, Russian oil imports accounted for about 25 per cent of the bloc’s crude purchases, according to its regional data.
In Britain, business minister Kwasi Kwarteng said he was exploring options to end British imports of Russian gas which accounts for about 4 per cent of supply in the country.
“In another economic blow to the (Vladimir) Putin regime following their illegal invasion of Ukraine, the UK will move away from dependence on Russian oil throughout this year, building on our severe package of international economic sanctions,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.
“Working with industry, we are confident that this can be achieved over the course of the year, providing enough time for companies to adjust and ensuring consumers are protected.”
The EU has also announced that it would seek to fully phase out its dependency on Russian energy “well before 2030” and pledged to reduce its purchases of Russian gas by two-thirds before the end of the year.
Residents of Irpin fleeing heavy fighting via a destroyed bridge as Russian forces enter the city on Monday.Credit:Getty Images / Chris McGrath
The President’s decision is a significant shift from last week, when the White House was downplaying the prospect of a ban on Russian imports. However, as Putin’s attacks intensified, the President came under growing pressure from Democrats and Republicans to act.
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Thousands of people also rallied at the White House over the weekend to demand more action to help Ukraine, with some describing the reliance on Russian energy as “blood money.”
Kristine Berzina is a senior fellow and the head of the geopolitics team at the German Marshall Fund, which is a Washington-based think tank. She said the President’s announcement was “welcome from a moral standpoint” given 36 per cent of Russia’s budget revenue came from oil and gas.
“If the West broadly would like to stop Russia’s war effort, it cannot be paying for its war effort,” she told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
“As other forms of income are being reduced through sanctions, to have a steady stream of income through energy gives Russia something to rely on to keep making bullets, to keep making armour, and to do all the other things needed to sustain and potentially accelerate this war effort.”
While both sides of politics support the ban, Republicans have also seized on the issue to hit out at Biden for cancelling the Keystone XL, a cross-border oil pipeline project they say would have reduced the nation’s reliance on foreign oil. Biden has also been criticised for delaying decisions on new oil and gas leases and permits, and for pushing a climate change agenda that heavily pivots from fossil fuels.
However, the President confronted these criticisms head-on at Wednesday’s (AEDT) press conference, saying it is “simply not true my administration or policies are holding back domestic energy production.”
“Even amid the pandemic, companies in the US pumped more oil during my first year in office than they did during my predecessor first’s year,” he said. “We’re approaching a record levels of oil and gas production US, and we’re on track to set a record oil production next year.”
The White House also argues that, in the long run, the way to avoid high gas prices “is to speed up – not slow down – our transition to a clean energy future.”
Biden, Johnson ban Russian oil imports in a bid to thwart Putin’s war
Source: Philippines Alive
