President Biden’s advisers are reportedly considering sending him to Saudi Arabia to push the kingdom to produce oil as prices skyrocket to over $130 a barrel.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the US and the rest of the world imposed tough sanctions on Moscow that raised already high gas prices to their highest level in more than a decade.
Biden has so far refrained from banning Russian oil imports despite bipartisan pressure. While the US has been trying to put a united front with its European allies on sanctions, Biden is considering going it alone by banning Russian oil imports. Bloomberg.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Sunday that the House of Representatives is considering “strong legislation” to ban Russian oil and energy products. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded with US lawmakers to do so during a call on Saturday.
Countries from Japan The United States discussed a ban on Russian oil imports in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in an 18% jump in crude oil prices, on top of a 21% jump last week.
President Biden’s advisers are reportedly considering sending him to Saudi Arabia to nudge the kingdom into oil production as prices soar to more than $130 a barrel.
Biden vowed to make Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a “rogue” during the 2019 presidential campaign after the CIA said he believed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was executed on bin Salman’s orders.
U.S. stock index futures tumbled on Monday as the prospect of a ban briefly lifted oil above $130 a barrel and heightened concerns about higher prices. inflation and a slowdown in economic growth. At 8.41, Dow index decreased by 214 points, or 0.64%. The S&P 500 fell 0.55% and the Nasdaq fell 0.61%.
West Texas Oil Intermediate and Brent for the first time since 2008 broke the mark of 130 dollars per barrel. For a $10 increase in the price of oil, the price of gasoline increases by about 20 cents per gallon.
The all-time high for oil was recorded in July 2008, when the price of a barrel of US oil rose to $145.29.
The average price of a gallon of gasoline rose to $4.07 from $3.61 a week ago.
The US imports about 700,000 barrels of crude oil and petroleum products per day from Russia.
On Sunday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said he discussed the Russian gas ban with Biden over the weekend and that the White House is considering the issue with its European allies.
“Now we are in very active negotiations with our European partners to ban the import of Russian oil to our countries and, of course, at the same time to maintain stable global oil supplies,” he said in the “Meet the Press” program on NBC.
Germany remains opposed to a ban on Russian oil, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz calling imports from the country “necessary” for the European economy.
Meanwhile, White House officials met this weekend with corrupt Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to discuss oil and gas exports.
A trip to Saudi Arabia would force the White House to compromise on their focus on human rights as they struggle to get the US off Russian gas. The potential visit was first reported Axios.
“America can easily replace #PutinOil by producing more of its own oil. Instead, Biden’s plan is to ask Saudi Arabia to produce more, buy more from the #MaduroRegime narco-terrorist in #Venezuela, and strike a deal with the world’s leading state sponsor of terror in Venezuela. #Iran,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio tweeted.
Biden vowed to make Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman a “rogue” during the 2019 presidential campaign after the CIA said he believed Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi was executed on bin Salman’s orders.
“In fact, Khashoggi was killed and dismembered, and I believe on the orders of the crown prince,” Biden said at the time. “And I would like to make it clear that we are not going to sell them more weapons, we are actually going to make them pay the price and make them basically the outcasts that they are. There is very little social redemption in the current government of Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, the US severed diplomatic relations with Maduro and closed its embassy in Caracas, Venezuela, in 2019 after accusing the leader of electoral fraud. The US then imposed tough sanctions on Venezuelan oil exports and recognized opposition leader Juan Guaidó as the country’s legitimate president.
In response to the sanctions, Venezuela joined Russia, as well as Iran and China.
US officials also believe that Russia’s allies in Latin America could become a security threat if the conflict escalates, according to the New York Times. Both parties called for Venezuela to intervene in Russian exports and increase oil production.
Khashoggi said in an interview with The Atlantic last week that he doesn’t care what Biden thinks of him and said the US president should focus on his own issues.
The crown prince told The Atlantic that he believes his own rights have been violated by allegations against him of the brutal murder and dismemberment of Khashoggi, who was killed at the royal consulate in Istanbul.
“I feel that human rights laws have not been applied to me… Article XI of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that any person is presumed innocent until proven guilty,” he said.
“I just don’t care,” the crown prince said, when asked by The Atlantic if Biden had misunderstood something about him.
He said Biden should “think about America’s interests.”
“We have no right to lecture you in America,” he added. – Same thing on the other side.