Russian Invasion: Joe Biden Announces Ban on Russia’s Oil Imports
- The United States is targeting a main artery of Russia’s economy by banning energy imports from the country
- Majority of Americans have backed President Joe Biden’s Russia oil ban including 72% of Donald Trump voters
- Russia’s fossil fuel sector is now in jeopardy as the United Kingdom joined the US in its move to cut imports
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Washington - President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday, March 8 that the US will ban the import of Russian energy products.
NBC news quoted the US president as saying:
“We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy. That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at U.S. ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin's war machine.”
Source: Getty Images
Biden warned that the move would probably increase gas prices in the U.S., but that it was necessary to ramp up sanctions pressure on Russia's economy for its war on Ukraine.
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He added:
“Putin's war is already hurting American families at the gas pump. I’m going to do everything I can to minimize Putin's price hike here at home.”
Ukraine's president reacts to Biden's move
Financial Times reports that the move was matched by a UK phase-out of Russian oil imports, but the EU did not follow suit and instead unveiled a plan to cut Russian gas imports by two-thirds within a year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the ban in a Tweet on the same day, while urging other world leaders to follow suit.
Experts speak on implications of Biden's ban
Joshua Tucker, a professor of politics at New York University, told Al Jazeera that legislators from both major US political parties have been calling on Biden to put more pressure on Russia’s oil-and-gas sector.
Read also
Invasion of Ukraine: Sanctions introduced on Russia equal to declaration of war, Putin says
CBS news reports that stocks swung, oil prices jumped and the price of nickel surged so much that trading for it was shut on the same day Biden announced the ban.
Kremlin releases list of ‘unfriendly’ countries amidst sanctions
Russia had on Monday, March 7 published an official list of foreign countries it considers to be "unfriendly."
The countries and territories considered "unfriendly" by the Russian government include Australia, Albania, Andorra, the United Kingdom, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, and Taiwan.
Others are the Republic of Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, the United States, Taiwan, Montenegro, Switzerland, and Japan.
Mastercard and Visa suspend operations in Russia over invasion of Ukraine
Legit.ng had earlier reported that Mastercard and Visa have suspended their operations in Russia due to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The latest blow to the Russian economy means that Mastercard credit cards will no longer work at Russian merchants or at bank ATMs.
Visa has also said that it would cease all transactions in the near future. Visa credit cards issued outside of Russia would no longer work inside the country.
Source: Legit.ng
