Congress to Approve More Aid For Kiev, ‘Exploring’ Possibility of Russian Oil Ban, Pelosi Says

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US House of Representatives is "exploring" the possibility of banning the import of Russian oil and energy products to the US, amid Russia’s ongoing special military operation in Ukraine, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, adding that Congress will approve emergency funding to Kiev this week.

"...the House is currently exploring strong legislation that will further isolate Russia from the global economy. Our bill would ban the import of Russian oil and energy products into the United States, repeal normal trade relations with Russia and Belarus, and take the first step to deny Russia access to the World Trade Organization. We would also empower the Executive branch to raise tariffs on Russian imports," Pelosi said in a Sunday statement.

She said that Washington welcomes EU readiness to reduce Western dependence on Russian energy.

"We salute [US] President [Joe] Biden for leading our allies in releasing 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves – including 30 million from American reserves in the SPR — to stabilize global markets," Pelosi said.

She also pledged continued support to Kiev, but reiterated that US troops will not be deployed in Ukraine.

"...the Biden Administration has requested $10 billion in humanitarian, military and economic support for Ukraine. The Congress intends to enact this emergency funding this week as part of our omnibus government funding legislation," Pelosi said.

On Thursday, Pelosi told a Capitol Hill conference that she was strongly in favor of a bipartisan bill to ban nearly a quarter of a billion dollars worth of annual Russian oil exports to the United States. However, National Economic Council Deputy Director Bharat Ramamurti said that the Biden administration opposes such a move as it would raise global prices for oil and gas and therefore could boost revenues for Russian energy products overall.