Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the U.S. is considering a ban on Russian oil imports “in coordination” with European and NATO allies amid bipartisan calls for a full embargo while Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking from the former Soviet republic of Moldova on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Blinken said the administration was looking at the “prospect” of banning Russian oil imports “in a coordinated way” with allies, while making sure there is still enough oil on the global market, but he declined to elaborate on how that could be accomplished.
“The actions we’ve taken to date have already had a devastating impact on the Russian economy,” he said later on NBC. “We’ve seen the ruble in free fall. We see the economy heading into a deep recession. We’ve already had a major impact, but we are looking, again, as we speak, in coordination with allies and partners at this prospect of banning oil imports.”
“A hallmark of everything we’ve done to date has been in coordination with our allies and partners,” Blinken responded. “We are much more effective across the board when we’re doing things together and in as close coordination as possible. There are instances in which we each do things a little bit different, but it complements the whole.
