The USA has taken the necessary steps “to remove any influence on the world’s oil market, which we expect is possible and will last due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” stated Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary during the briefing.
Psaki made the comments during the US officials’ recent visit to Saudi Arabia, saying that “the steps we can all take as a global community to eliminate any volatility in the market are being discussed”.
She also said that the decision to impose sanctions against some of the Russian banks with SWIFT limitations is a part of the efforts that “would greatly affect President Putin, the Russian elite, its economy and minimize his influence on the world markets and American people”.
“I mean that even if you look at the influence on the energy sector, you see that we did not take some of the steps towards energy sanctions, partly because we weighed that. That does not mean that they are not being discussed, but Europeans, for example, are very concerned about the further jump in gas prices.”
Oil prices jumped by more than $100 a barrel after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, which increased pressure on the world economy.