WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden planned to hold a video teleconference with the leaders of France, Britain and Germany on Monday to disucss developments in Ukraine as Washington pushes its allies on a possible Russian oil ban.
NATO countries have ramped up their presence in the Baltic nations since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine and more troops and equipment are on the way, policy makers have said.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the White House slapped sanctions on exports of technologies to Russia’s refineries and the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which has never launched. So far, it has stopped short of targeting Russia’s oil and gas exports as the Biden administration weighs the impacts on global oil markets and U.S. energy prices.
The United States and European partners are exploring banning Russian oil imports, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, but stressed the importance of steady oil supplies globally.
Oil prices have soared over the past week after the United States and its allies sanctioned Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Toby Chopra and Chizu Nomiyama)
