The US, France, Germany and the UK want to further sanction Russia for attacking Ukraine

US President Joe Biden during a video conference with the leaders of France, Germany and the UK on March 7, 2022, in a photo released by the White House – White House/AFP

Officials from the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have decided to further sanction Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, the White House said Monday (7) after a video conference.

Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Olaf Scholes and Boris Johnson “confirmed their determination to continue increasing the cost of an unprovoked and unnecessary invasion of Ukraine,” a US government statement said.

Western allies are leading a united front on sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, but cracks emerged on Monday over the prospect of a ban on Russian oil and gas imports, which Germany, which relies on Russian fuel, opposes.

A statement released in Berlin after the meeting made no mention of sanctions and focused on concerns about humanitarian aid to besieged areas, where the leaders also spoke.

On Monday, Scholz said Russian energy imports were “essential” for Europeans and warned that banning Russian oil and gas imports as part of Western sanctions could compromise Europe’s energy security.

Biden is under increasing pressure from US lawmakers to cut off a key source of income for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government.

The US, one of the major oil producers, imports little Russian oil and when Biden was asked if oil could be the next target, he said he was “not ruling anything out”. It has been avoided so far because of the risk of breaking solidarity with the Europeans and fueling US inflation, which is already rampant.