President Donald Trump renewed his call for European nations to “stop buying oil” from Russia, linking the demand to US efforts to pressure President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
“The Europeans are buying oil from Russia – not supposed to happen, right?” Trump said Saturday at a dinner in Mount Vernon, Virginia.
Trump has repeatedly criticized Europe over Russian energy purchases. After meeting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday, he said he’s willing to intensify economic pressure on Moscow, “but not when the people that I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia.”
Most European countries halted direct Russian oil purchases after Moscow’s 2022 invasion, but small volumes still flow to Eastern Europe. Europe also imports diesel from India and Turkey, where Russian crude is refined.
The EU has banned imports of refined products from Russian crude starting next year and is weighing restrictions on Russian liquefied natural gas from 2027. Nearly all EU states have ended seaborne and pipeline imports, with Hungary and Slovakia – reliant on the Druzhba pipeline – the main exceptions. Brussels is considering trade measures if they don’t phase out purchases, Bloomberg reported.
These remaining imports account for about 3 per cent of EU crude, down from 27 per cent before the war, according to European Commission data.
On Saturday, Trump suggested Matt Whitaker, US ambassador to NATO, press Europe harder. “They have to stop buying oil from Russia, Matt,” he said. “Matt won’t let it happen much longer.”
With no resolution to the war in sight, Trump expressed frustration with Putin, saying he was “very disappointed.” He argued the conflict would end if Russian oil revenues were squeezed “a little bit more.”
