Washington, March 8 (FN Agency) US President Joe Biden is likely to ban Russian oil, natural gas and coal imports to the US on Tuesday, according to sources. The US will make the move unilaterally, without its European allies, due to disagreement among European nations about whether to ban Russian energy, CNN reported. State Secretary Antony Blinken said it is “imperative” for the European countries to stop relying on Russian energy.
Speaking at a joint press conference in Tallinn with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Blinken said there is a “significant, not only opportunity but imperative in this moment to finally move off of, for many countries in Europe, the dependence on Russian energy. Because Russia uses it as a weapon.” Earlier, Russia had threatened to cut of Europes’ gas supply by shutting down Nord Stream 1 in response to possible oil import bans. Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said, “In connection with the unfounded accusations against Russia … and the imposition of a ban on Nord Stream 2, we have every right to take a mirror decision and impose an embargo on gas pumping through the gas pipeline Nord Stream 1, which today is loaded at the maximum level of 100 per cent.” According to CNN, Russia supplies about 40 per cent of Europe’s gas and Germany, the bloc’s biggest economy, relies on Russia for almost 50 per cent of its natural gas.