The White House on Wednesday appeared to downplay its openness to sanctioning Russian oil as a means of punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The administration declined to rule it out entirely but said doing so was not in US strategic interests, citing disruptions to the global oil supply and the effect it would have on gas prices.
“We don’t have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy,” principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Jean-Pierre said that sanctions like that “would raise prices at the gas pump for Americans,” something that the White House is “very aware of.”
She lauded US companies that have cut ties with Russia, and said the administration welcomes those announcements.










