Biden Announces Ban On Russian Oil Imports In Bid To Hold Putin ‘Accountable’

President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced a ban on the U.S. importing Russian oil and natural gas, declaring that he is “targeting the main artery of Russia’s economy.”

“Russian oil will no longer be accepted at U.S. ports,” the president said in remarks at the White House. “We will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war.”

The president said his decision comes after consulting with European allies, although he said some are not able to join the U.S. in banning Russian oil. Still, the European Commission (E.U.) said it plans to reduce imports of Russian energy by two-thirds, even though it gets 40% of it from Russia. For its part, the United Kingdom is to phase out Russian oil imports by the end of 2022.

Biden had been under heavy pressure to cut off imports of energy from Russian, the world’s third-largest producer of oil and second-largest producer of natural gas.