Europe relies on Russia for crude oil and natural gas but has become more open to the idea of banning Russian products in the past 24 hours, a source familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Sunday.
Meanwhile, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi also said in a Sunday letter that the chamber is "exploring" legislation to ban the import of Russian oil and that Congress intends to enact this week $10 billion in aid for Ukraine in response to Moscow's military invasion of its neighbour.
The White House is also talking with the Senate Finance Committee and House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee about a potential ban, the source said.
Still, Blinken also stressed the importance of maintaining steady oil supplies globally.
Blinken, who is on a trip across Europe to coordinate with allies the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, also said he discussed oil imports with President Joe Biden and his cabinet on Saturday.
Japan, which counts Russia as its fifth-biggest supplier of crude oil, is also in discussion with the United States and European countries about possibly banning Russian oil imports, Kyodo News reported on Monday.
Asked about a potential embargo on Russian oil imports at a regular news conference on Monday, Japan's top government spokesperson Hirokazu Matsuno declined to comment on its communication with the United States.
Oil prices, have soared over the past week after the United States and its allies sanctioned Russia over the invasion.
After Russia invaded 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. | via Reuters
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