Europe independence from Russian energy 'priority' - US
The United States wants to ensure that Europe pivots from Russian energy following sanctions meant to undermine the Russian economy.
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White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan with US President Joe Biden
The United States is pumping more gas into Europe as it seeks to reduce the old continent's dependence on Russian energy, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday, underlining that this matter was one of "priority" for Washington.
"[US President Joe Biden] is now working on a daily basis with his European colleagues on steps Europe can take to wean itself off of Russian oil and gas," Sullivan revealed.
The United States is upping gas exports to Europe in a bid to "reduce their dependence on Russia," the top US official said, explaining that Biden was talking to them about how they could veer off Russian oil too.
He noted that the US is not going to rush until the decision is made, but it is "a matter of priority for the United States to continue to work with European partners on this issue."
The United States is leading a bid to abandon Russian energy, with President Biden imposing a ban on the import of Russian gas, oil, and coal, which caused energy prices in the US to surge and severely impacted the purchasing power of Americans.
The EU itself is trying to cut ties with the Russian energy industry, as Germany and many of its allies are shifting their energy policies to be less reliant on Russia even if it costs them a fortune. However, despite condemning Moscow's actions in Ukraine, Germany has been transparent about its opposition to sanctions or political pressure that would bring about a full energy embargo, with only a few countries banning energy imports from Russia, like the United States and the United Kingdom.
All in all, despite the sanctions and overall damage inflicted on the global energy sector, Russian oil will make an additional $103 billion in budget revenue for the nation, experts reported.
Russia had launched a special military operation in Ukraine due to NATO's eastward expansion, in addition to the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass, the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Lugansk People's Republic, as well as Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.
In response, the US and its allies have rolled out comprehensive sanctions, including restrictions on the Russian central bank, export control measures, SWIFT cutoff for select banks, and closure of airspace to all Russian flights. Many of their companies have suspended their Russian operations.
