US in ‘very active discussion’ with allies to ban import of Russian oil

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the US and its allies are engaged in a "very active discussion" about banning the import of Russian oil and natural gas in a new escalation of sanctions in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.

The US and western allies have until now held off on current energy supplies from Russia, in order to avoid blowback on their own economies, where inflation is already making prices of gasoline and other goods a problem.

Earlier this week, the White House publicly rebuffed suggestions from lawmakers that the US ban Russian oil, which made up 3% of all the crude shipments that arrived in the US last year, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

But Europe is far more dependent, with an estimated 30% of oil and 39% of gas supplies coming from Russia.

Blinken told CNN on Sunday morning that Joe Biden convened a meeting of his National Security Council on the subject the day before.

"We are now talking to our European partners and allies to look in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world market," said Blinken. "That's a very active discussion as we speak."

Republicans and a growing number of Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, back the idea of a Russian oil import ban, arguing that Russia's lucrative exports fund Putin's war effort.