MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. The United States has been trying to shift the blame for rising fuel prices on Russia, but Moscow has nothing to do with this situation, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said during a government hour in the State Duma, lower house of parliament.
"The US-announced ban on the supply of Russian oil and petroleum products has become one of the reasons for the surge in fuel prices. In the United States, since the beginning of the year, fuel prices have risen by 19%. However, the share of Russian energy resources in the United States of Russian exports is only 3%," he said.
"But our partners are trying to shift their problems associated with rising prices on Russia. Although our country has nothing to do with this," he added.
The Deputy Prime Minister reiterated that Russia has never used energy resources as a weapon and has been their reliable supplier to world markets for many decades.
"Even now, despite the most difficult geopolitical situation, we continue to supply gas to European consumers in compliance accordance with applications and contracts, using the Ukrainian gas transmission system in accordance with the contract until 2024," he added.
US sanctions
US President Joe Biden signed the executive order on March 8 banning import of energy resources from Russia. The Department of the Treasury set the deadline to complete import transactions as April 22. Oil import transactions with the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) are not banned because the executive order allows import of energy resources not originating from Russia, which are carried by transit via Russia or are exported from it.
After that, the cost of gasoline at gas stations in the United States began to rise. According to the US Department of Labor, the cost of gasoline at gas stations has recently repeatedly updated its all-time high. On March 10 it exceeded $4.31 per gallon (3.785 liters) of the Regular brand (corresponding to AI-92 gasoline in the Russian Federation). Biden attributed the surge in gasoline prices to the fact that the situation was influenced by the crisis around Ukraine. He also argued that inflation in the United States as a whole is breaking records due to the actions of Russia.