In the midst of the ban, the US imports almost twice as much Russian oil?

Information revealed by the President of the State Duma Russia (Lower House) Vyacheslav Volodin on his personal Telegram page on June 8 and was broadcast on RT lead back.

“The US has announced and pressured its European ally to ban Russian energy, while continuing to buy our oil in large quantities” – radio station RT of Russia quoted Vyacheslav Volodin as saying.

Washington in early March announced it would limit imports of Russian crude oil. Several petroleum products, liquefied natural gas and coal are also under sanctions because of the crisis in Ukraine.

“US President Joe Biden then announced that Russian oil would not be accepted in US ports. However, that statement was not accompanied by action” – Mr. Volodin wrote on his personal Telegram page – “The amount of oil from Russia nearly doubled in March from February – from 2.325 to 4.218 million barrels, respectively, according to data from the US Department of Energy.

This means that, despite being banned by Washington, Russia “has risen from 9th to 6th place in the list of the largest oil suppliers to the US” – still information from Mr. Volodin said.

“The fact is that at the same time Washington pressured the European Union (EU) to give up Russian oil and they succeeded,” Volodin emphasized.

An oil tanker at the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Photo: Sputnik/Vitaly Timkiv

Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a special military operation against Ukraine on February 24. Since then, the US and its Western allies have launched a series of economic sanctions against Russia.

After weeks of debate, the EU agreed to a sixth package of sanctions imposed on Russia late last month, including a ban on Russian oil. The EU announced an immediate halt to imports of 75% of Russian oil and aims to reach 90% by the end of 2022. However, Hungary and a number of countries have been exempted because of their excessive dependence on Russian energy – according to the radio. RT.

Last week, President Biden suggested that the US might buy Russian oil after a ban from the EU would likely drive down Moscow’s oil prices.

“Russia has overwhelming demand for oil sales after the EU ban and it will be sold at a significantly lower price than the market,” Biden said.

However, the Russian side expressed skepticism about President Joe Biden’s plan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed to RT: “Demand may decrease in one area but increase in another. Supply chains will be reoriented.”