European oil deals with Russia

Washington (dpa) — US President Donald Trump has reproached European countries for continuing to buy Russian oil amid the war in Ukraine, according to several media reports on Thursday.

US news outlet Axios and broadcaster CNN cited White House sources as saying that Trump demanded in a phone call with European allies that Europe stop purchasing Russian oil, which is financing Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

He also said the countries should put pressure on China. German newspaper Bild also reported on Trump’s accusations regarding European imports of Russian oil.

The Coalition of the Willing, a loose alliance of some 35 countries, on Thursday gathered in Paris to discuss how to strengthen the Ukrainian armed forces along with providing political and military commitments to Kiev in case Russia launches another attack after a peace deal is reached.

The meeting was followed by a phone call with Trump. French President Emmanuel Macron said afterwards that Trump and the US government were quite rightly outraged that two EU member states, Hungary and Slovakia, were still buying Russian oil.

Macron said that the Europeans had also agreed during the talks with the US to examine sanctions against countries that support the Russian economy or help circumvent sanctions imposed on Moscow.

According to the EU, Europe’s oil business with Russia has fallen sharply in recent years. However, it has not stopped completely.

Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in 2022, the EU imposed far-reaching import bans on Russian energy sources such as coal and oil. However, these do not extend to crude oil transported via pipelines. The Russian oil pipeline Druzhba continues to transport oil to Hungary and Slovakia.