Biden to announce joint action on enhancing European energy security

President Joe Biden will head to Europe March 23 and is expected to join US allies and partners in imposing further sanctions on Russia and tightening existing restrictions to ensure robust enforcement and prevent Russia from evading the severe economic costs imposed for its invasion of Ukraine, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters March 22.

Following meetings with European allies, Sullivan said he expects Biden to announce joint action on enhancing European energy security and reducing Europe's dependence on Russian gas.

Sullivan said an announcement would be made March 24 on the new package of sanctions, but declined to comment further on what those may entail.

"What I will say is that one of the key elements of that announcement will focus not just on adding new sanctions, but on ensuring that there is joint effort to crack down on evasion, on sanctions busting, on any attempt by any country to help Russia basically undermine, weaken or get around the sanctions," Sullivan said. "That is an important part of this next phase."

He added that the US would apply lessons learned from other situations in which sanctions were employed to ensure effective enforcement and to "sustain and escalate" the economic pressure put on Russia over time.

Asked about the potential for other countries to impose an import ban on Russian energy products, Sullivan reiterated the president's position that the US was "uniquely positioned" to take that step and would not pressure any European allies or partners to follow suit.