Washington, D.C.: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that both India and China have started buying less Russian oil at the request of US President Donald Trump. This statement comes as Washington imposes a new round of sanctions on two of Moscow’s largest oil companies that will have a big effect.
Leavitt said that the administration was using a “full-court press” strategy to put pressure on Russia over the ongoing war.
Leavitt remarked at a press conference, “If you read the sanctions and look at them, they’re pretty big.” “I saw some international news this morning that China is buying less oil from Russia.” We know that India has done the same at the president’s request. The president has also told our European allies to cease buying oil from Russia. So it’s definitely a full-court press. As the Secretary of the Treasury mentioned yesterday, we think these penalties will hurt.
Trump: India Promises to Cut Imports to “Almost Nothing”
Leavitt said what he said after President Trump said the day before that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised him something.
“India has assured me that they will discontinue [purchasing Russian oil]… It’s a process. You can’t just stop… By the end of the year, they will have used up virtually all of the oil, or about 40%. India, they’ve been fantastic. Talked to Modi, the Prime Minister, yesterday. On Wednesday, Trump told reporters, “They’ve been great.”
But reports in the media say that Indian refiners, including Reliance Industries, which is privately owned, are looking over Russian crude contracts to make sure they follow the new US sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil. India has publicly denied any change in policy, saying that its energy decisions are based only on national interest and the need to get cheap crude for its customers.
New Sanctions Against Big Russian Oil Companies
The White House Press Secretary defended the fresh sanctions imposed on Russia’s energy giants, Rosneft and Lukoil, arguing they were “appropriate and necessary.” Leavitt said that the steps show how frustrated the administration is getting with the lack of progress in peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
“The president has always said that he would put sanctions on Russia when he thought it was right and necessary.” She said, “And yesterday was that day.”
Leavitt also talked on the chance of the two leaders getting together in the future. He said that a meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin was “not completely off the table.” She did, however, underline that the White House needs “a tangible positive outcome” from any such engagement. She said that the President is driven by the accomplishment of his recent Middle East peace deal and “wants this war to end.”
Moscow Calls Sanctions “Not Friendly”
Russia quickly called the most recent US sanctions a “unfriendly move” in response. President Vladimir Putin said that the limitations will have “little effect” on Russia’s economy.
Putin said, “No self-respecting country ever does anything under pressure,” and he accused Washington of using sanctions as a political weapon. Putin asked why the US has put restrictions on Russian oil shipments, adding, “Some people in the US government have pushed for restrictions on Russian oil exports — one wonders whose interests they’re really working for.”
Trade problems with New Delhi are still going on.
The rising tensions over Russian oil imports have also made trading between New Delhi and Washington more difficult. President Trump’s decision to raise tariffs on Indian imports to 50%—including an extra 25% charge directly tied to India’s continued purchase of Russian crude—makes things much more complicated. India has always said that the US’s choice was “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable.”