“They are trying to shift responsibility”: what does the initiative of US senators say to impose sanctions on China's purchase of oil from the Russian Federation

A group of US senators has introduced a bill that would impose sanctions on insurance or registration of tankers that carry oil or liquefied natural gas from Russia to China, Bloomberg reports.

It follows from the document that any organizations, including Chinese state-owned companies, helping the Russian authorities in this direction should "face serious consequences."

The document was sponsored by Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Rick Scott and Kevin Kramer.

In particular, according to Rubio, Beijing, by buying energy from Moscow, supports the Russian special operation in Ukraine.

At the same time, the material notes that the bill has little chance of getting the approval of the Senate, the majority of which is held by the Democrats.

According to the agency, the idea of ​​the document runs counter to the policy of the administration of US President Joe Biden, which provides for the preservation of the flow of oil supplies while striving to minimize Russia's income from the sale of energy resources.

The Chinese authorities reacted to the initiative of the US senators by opposing the imposition of unilateral sanctions and the application of extraterritorial jurisdiction.

According to Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian, cooperation between Beijing and Moscow is not influenced by external factors.

“China conducts normal trade and economic cooperation with Russia on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit, it is not directed against third parties and is not influenced by external interference,” RIA Novosti quoted the diplomat as saying.

Note that the United States imposed a ban on the import of Russian oil, liquefied gas and coal on March 8.

The White House statement argued that the US could afford such a move thanks to the country's strong energy infrastructure.

In the following months, however, the United States faced record domestic gasoline price increases.

According to the US Energy Information Administration, in February 2022, a gallon of gasoline cost about $3.6, and by June, its price had risen to $5.

Against the backdrop of these events, the White House decided to release up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the country's strategic reserves.

At the same time, Biden, in his public speeches, linked the increase in fuel prices directly with the activities of Vladimir Putin.

According to the head of the White House, the rise in the price of fuel and food is "Putin's tax."

In addition, in June it became known about the plans of the G7 member countries to introduce a ceiling on prices for Russian oil.

According to the proposed mechanism, it will be possible to insure and transport only oil, the price of which does not exceed the limit agreed upon by the initiators.

In July, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the initiatives of Western politicians to regulate energy prices.

Talking to reporters following his visit to Iran, the Russian leader noted that any such steps would lead to higher prices.

According to him, the states of the West are “stepping on a rake” in the sphere of trade in oil and oil products.

“Now we hear all sorts of false ideas about limiting the volume of Russian oil, limiting the price of Russian oil.

It's the same thing that happens with gas.

The result (it is even surprising that people with higher education say this) will be the same - a rise in prices.

Oil prices will skyrocket,” Putin said.

Commenting on the new initiatives of US senators, political scientist Andrey Suzdaltsev noted that the US is "trying to shift the responsibility" for the crisis in the economy onto Russia.

“There is indeed some kind of panic in a number of proposals from the American establishment.

They are constantly looking for options to somehow divert responsibility from the fact that they turned out to be completely zero economists, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

According to him, the initiative proposed by the US senators is dangerous for the global economy and can lead to serious consequences for the US itself.

In turn, political scientist Ivan Mezyuho noted that the United States is trying to act from the point of view of the right of the strong in relations with China.

He doubted that such an approach could lead to the desired result in the United States.

“Now they are trying to demonstrate their ability to exert economic pressure on the Chinese economy in order to encourage Beijing to reconsider its independent foreign policy in favor of conciliation, or at least some slight neutrality, on topics that are of extreme importance to the United States of America.

This is the road to nowhere, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.