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Trump pressures China and India to stop
buying cheap Russian oil
[August 05, 2025]
By DAVID McHUGH
U.S.
President Donald Trump is pushing China and India to stop buying oil
from Russia and helping fund the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine.
Trump is raising the issue as he seeks to press Russian President
Vladimir Putin to agree to a ceasefire.
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In this file photo taken on Wednesday, April 5, 2006, A view of
reservoirs of Russian state-controlled oil giant OAO Rosneft, at
Priobskoye oil field near Nefteyugansk, in western Siberia, Russia. (AP
Photo/Misha Japaridze, File) |
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But
cheap Russian oil benefits refiners in those countries as well
as meeting their needs for energy, and they’re not showing any
inclination to halt the practice.
Three countries are big buyers of Russian oil
China, India and Turkey are the biggest recipients of oil that
used to go to the European Union. The EU’s decision to boycott
most Russian seaborne oil from January 2023 led to a massive
shift in crude flows from Europe to Asia.
Since then China has been the No. 1 overall purchaser of Russian
energy since the EU boycott, with some $219.5 billion worth of
Russian oil, gas and coal, followed by India with $133.4 billion
and Turkey with $90.3 billion. Before the invasion, India
imported relatively little Russian oil.
Hungary imports some Russian oil through a pipeline. Hungary is
an EU member, but President Viktor Orban has been critical of
sanctions against Russia.
The lure of cheaper oil
One big reason: It's cheap. Since Russian oil trades at a lower
price than international benchmark Brent, refineries can fatten
their profit margins when they turn crude into usable products
such as diesel fuel.
Russia's oil earnings are substantial despite sanctions
The Kyiv School of Economics says Russia took in $12.6 billion
from oil sales in June. Russia continues to earn substantial
sums even as the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations
has tried to limit Russia's take by imposing an oil price cap.
The cap is to be enforced by requiring shipping and insurance
companies to refuse to handle oil shipments above the cap.
Russia has to a great extent been able to evade the cap by
shipping oil on a “shadow fleet” of old vessels using insurers
and trading companies located in countries that are not
enforcing sanctions.
Russian oil exporters are predicted to take in $153 billion this
year, according to the Kyiv institute. Fossil fuels are the
single largest source of budget revenue. The imports support
Russia's ruble currency and help Russia to buy goods from other
countries, including weapons and parts for them.
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