Multiple White House officials, including President Joe Biden himself, stated Thursday that the sanctions rolled out in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were specifically crafted to limit the impact on Western energy markets.
The statements come after weeks of warnings from the administration that the public could expect to see higher gas and other energy prices should Russia invade Ukraine.
OIL PRICES SOAR ABOVE $105 AS RUSSIA INVADES UKRAINE
Deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh told reporters at Thursday’s press briefing that Biden’s sanctions, the largest ever placed on Russia by the United States, “are not designed to cause any disruption to the current flow of energy from Russia to the world.”
“We’ve carved out energy payments on a time-bound basis to allow for an orderly transition of these flows away from sanction institutions,” he continued. “We provided other licenses to provide for an orderly wind down of business.”
Earlier in the day, Biden claimed that the sanctions were “specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue.”
The president added that the administration is coordinating with other major oil producers, and the world’s largest consumers, “to elevate a collective release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserves of major energy-consuming countries,” pledging the U.S. to “release additional barrels of oil as conditions warrant.”
“I know this is hard and that Americans are already hurting. I will do everything in my power to limit the pain the American people are feeling at the gas pump. This is critical to me,” he reiterated. “But this aggression cannot go unanswered. If it did, the consequences for America would be much worse. America stands up to bullies. We stand up for freedom. This is who we are.”
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You can watch Thursday’s briefing in full below.
