Biden admitted that sanctions against Russia will hurt the U.S. economy

The U.S. sanctions will hit Russia, but Washington will do whatever is necessary to protect the U.S. economy. U.S. President Joe Biden said this in a speech Tuesday at the White House that focused on the situation around Ukraine.

“I’m going to take decisive action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is aimed at the Russian economy, not our economy,” Biden said.

“We’re imposing full blocking sanctions on two major Russian financial institutions, VEB and their military bank, also imposing comprehensive sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. That means we are cutting off the Russian government from Western financing,” Biden said.

These restrictive measures go into effect Tuesday, he said. Sanctions on “Russian elites and their families” will begin to take effect Wednesday and the following days.

The U.S. will keep a close eye on energy markets in connection with the sanctions against Russia. “As we respond, my administration is taking every opportunity in our arsenal to protect American businesses and consumers from rising prices. As I said last week, protecting freedom will come with a price for us as well. We have to be honest. However, as we do, I intend to take serious action to ensure that the damage from our sanctions affects the Russian economy, not us.”

“We are closely monitoring energy supplies for any potential disruptions, and we are implementing a plan to coordinate with major oil producers and oil consumers to invest together to ensure stability and global energy supplies,” Biden said.

“This will lead to lower fuel prices. I want to limit the damage that Americans are experiencing at gas stations,” the U.S. president said. – This is critical to me.”

The U.S. remains ready to work diplomatically with Russia and hopes for the same attitude from Moscow, the U.S. president said.

“We look soberly at the challenges we face. Nevertheless, there is still time to ensure that the situation does not develop into a worst-case scenario. The United States and its allies and partners remain open to diplomacy if it is serious,” Biden said.