On September 8, a meeting of European and American officials will take place in Washington to discuss the potential strengthening of economic pressure on Russia, particularly through the implementation of new sanctions. This move comes amid growing dissatisfaction from US President Donald Trump over his failure to end the war in Ukraine.
This is reported by Business • Media
EU’s Position on Purchasing Russian Oil
President of the European Council António Costa confirmed that the EU delegation has arrived in Washington to work together on new sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, Donald Trump openly accused European leaders of continuing to buy Russian oil, thereby, in his view, financing the Russian military machine.
According to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the only countries in the EU that are purchasing oil from Russia are Hungary and Slovakia.
The European Union, according to von der Leyen, intends to completely phase out imports of Russian oil by 2028. At the same time, European Commissioner for Energy Dan Jørgensen stated that he has not felt pressure from Washington to accelerate the phase-out of Russian energy resources. This week, he plans to hold talks with US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright in Brussels regarding the EU’s commitments to purchase American energy resources worth $250 billion per year.
Increase in Fuel Supplies from India and China’s Position
US Special Representative Steve Witkoff noted that European countries are purchasing fuel made from Russian oil through India. According to The Economic Times, in August, diesel exports from India to Europe increased by 137% compared to July, reaching 242,000 barrels per day. This increase is attributed to expectations of the European Union’s ban on fuel produced from Russian crude oil, which is set to take effect in January 2026. Compared to August 2024, diesel exports from India have risen by 73%, and were also 124% higher than the annual average.
India, for its part, has stated its intention to continue purchasing Russian oil despite the 50% tariff imposed by the US. Commenting on this, Donald Trump stated that he has “lost India and Russia to China.”
China is also intensifying cooperation with the Russian Federation: during Putin’s recent visit to Beijing, an agreement was reached for an additional purchase of 2.5 million tons of oil per year from Rosneft.