Zelenskyy thanks Biden for banning energy imports from Russia
Mar 08, 2022
Kyiv [Ukraine], March 9 : Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked US President Joe Biden Tuesday banning Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports to the US.
"Thankful for US and @POTUS personal leadership in striking in the heart of Putin's war machine and banning oil, gas and coal from US market," Zelenskyy tweeted.
Biden on Tuesday announced the banning of Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports to the US in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"Today I am announcing the United States is targeting the main artery of Russia's economy. We're banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy," Biden said in remarks from the White House. "That means Russian oil will no longer be acceptable at US ports and the American people will deal another powerful blow to Putin's war machine."
The United Kingdom also announced that it will phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year.
UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng on Tuesday said that the phasing out of imports will not be immediate, but instead will allow the UK more than enough time to adjust supply chains, supporting industry and consumers.
Notably, there were some disagreements among European nations about whether to ban Russian energy imports.
EU countries have significantly more dependence on Russian energy than the US. US imports from Russia make up a small slice of the American energy portfolio -- roughly 8 per cent in 2021, of which only about 3 per cent as crude oil.
The Department of Energy reported that in the last two weeks of February, Russian oil imports dropped to zero as US companies cut ties with Russia, effectively implementing their own ban, CNN reported.
The leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands on Monday said Europe was too dependent on Russian energy supplies to stop imports overnight as part of any eventual sanctions package in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia is the largest supplier of natural gas to Germany, currently accounting for 38 per cent of imports, according to government statistics. Gas accounts for around a fifth of German power production reported DW.
