The White House continued to defend its decision not to halt Russian oil imports, saying that doing so would raise gas prices for the American people.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was asked Thursday why the administration is keeping the carve out on Russian oil given that Russian President Vladimir Putin will benefit financially from it.

“Our objective and the president’s objective has been to maximize impact on President Putin and Russia while minimizing impact to us and our allies and partners, and I know you’ve heard me say this a few times before, but we don’t have a strategic interest in reducing the global supply of energy, and that would raise prices at the gas pump for the American people around the world, because it would reduce the supply available,” she said.