WASHINGTON, March 8 (Reuters) – The United States could announce a ban on all Russian oil imports today as part of tougher sanctions on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine, sources said. from a source familiar with the matter on Tuesday.
The White House has announced that President Joe Biden will announce new measures regarding Russia at 10:45 a.m. Washington (3:45 p.m. GMT).
The Biden administration has been discussing a ban on Russian oil imports for several days with several European countries, but sources familiar with the matter explained on Monday that it was ready to pass the act unilaterally, the dependence of several European countries on imported hydrocarbons. of Russia seeming to constitute an obstacle to a common initiative.
Washington is working on this issue in close collaboration with its European allies, Democratic Senator Chris Coons assured CNN on Tuesday.
Following a videoconference meeting on Monday, French, German, American and British leaders reiterated their determination to strengthen sanctions against Russia and Belarus, without further details.
For its part, Moscow has warned that a ban by Western countries on imports of Russian oil would have “catastrophic consequences for the world market” and could lead to the closure of the main gas pipeline to Germany.
(Report Steve Holland, French version Marc Angrand, told by Sophie Louet)
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