The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that “There’s no strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy” by sanctioning Russia’s energy.
The Foreign Minister went further to downplay the impact that energy sanctions on Russia would have, arguing any such sanctions would hurt America and its allies more than they would Moscow.
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After being asked by a reporter how Western countries could “beat Putin” when they pay Russia “up to $700 million a day in oil, gas, and coal,” and whether the US would consider implementing energy sanctions, Blinken said that while;
Nothing is off the table. The sanctions are designed to have maximum impact on Russia and Putin while minimizing harm to us and our partners. There’s no strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy.
The immediate effect would be to raise prices at the pump for Americans and to pad Russian profits with rising profits.
He added that the U.S. is working to undermine Russia’s ability to maintain a role as a leading energy provider.
Such targeted sanctions being deployed include cutting Russia’s access to vital technologies that would allow it to continue developing its energy capabilities as well as cutting off the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to stagnate and limit Russia’s growth as an exporter.
Some US lawmakers have pushed for more immediate action. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan introduced legislation on Tuesday that would see the White House ban all Russian petroleum and petroleum products imports into the U.S.
Pushing back on the bi-partisan pressure from lawmakers, the State Department stated that an immediate embargo would only “raise prices at the pump for Americans.”
On Friday, the US Commerce Department announced that it would take action to target Russia’s oil refining sector, unveiling “new stringent export controls.”
The department said it was imposing “stringent restrictions on a wide variety of items necessary for refining oil” and targeting 91 new entities, including those based in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Singapore.
Western powers have imposed an array of sanctions against the Russian government, banks, companies, and individuals in retaliation for Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
