During an interview with “PBS NewsHour” aired on Friday, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan defended waiting to impose the large sanctions on Russia’s energy the Biden administration imposed on Friday by stating that “If we had sanctioned Russia’s oil 18 months ago, at a time when oil prices were high, gas prices were high, it would have meant a spike at the pump in a way that would have put pain on working people in the United States.”
“NewsHour” Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent Nick Schifrin asked, “Today, you’re imposing the largest sanctions yet on Russia’s energy sector, including two of Russia’s largest oil producers and ships that constitute Russia’s shadow fleet that senior officials say will cost Russia billions of dollars per month. Why are you taking this step now? And why didn’t you take it sooner?”
Sullivan answered, “If we had sanctioned Russia’s oil 18 months ago, at a time when oil prices were high, gas prices were high, it would have meant a spike at the pump in a way that would have put pain on working people in the United States. Today, oil prices are much lower. The oil market globally is very well supplied. And so, we have an opportunity to hit Putin in his pocketbook without hitting the American people in theirs. What we’re giving the incoming team, the incoming administration, is real leverage in a negotiation as they set up for diplomacy.”
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