Putin remains defiant after US sanctions Russian oil firms over Ukraine - As-salamu alaykum
As-salamu alaykum. MOSCOW: President Vladimir Putin stayed defiant on Thursday after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies to push the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine - a move that lifted global oil prices by about 5 percent. Trade sources told Reuters that Chinese state oil majors have temporarily paused purchases of Russian oil, while refiners in India, the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian crude, are expected to sharply reduce imports. The sanctions target Rosneft and Lukoil, which together produce over 5 percent of the world’s oil, and mark a notable reversal by Trump, who only last week had said he and Putin would soon meet in Budapest to try to end the conflict. While the immediate financial hit to Russia may be limited, the step signals Trump’s aim to tighten pressure on Russia’s finances and push the Kremlin toward a settlement in the 3½-year invasion of Ukraine. Putin dismissed the sanctions as an unfriendly act, saying they would not seriously harm the Russian economy and stressing Russia’s role in global markets. He cautioned that a sharp drop in supply would raise prices and be uncomfortable for countries such as the United States. “This is, of course, an attempt to put pressure on Russia,” Putin said. “But no self-respecting country and no self-respecting people ever decides anything under pressure.” When asked about Putin’s remark that the sanctions wouldn’t have much effect, Trump told reporters: “I’m glad he feels that way. That’s good. I’ll let you know about it in six months from now.” With Ukraine requesting long-range missiles from US and European partners to try to change the course of the war, Putin warned that Moscow’s response to strikes deep inside Russia would be “very serious, if not overwhelming.”
Trump’s reversal Trump, in another reversal on the conflict, said on Wednesday the planned summit with Putin was off because it wouldn’t achieve the desired outcome, saying his many “good conversations” with Putin had not gone anywhere. “We canceled the meeting with President Putin - it just didn’t feel right to me,” Trump told reporters. “It didn’t feel like we were going to get to the place we have to get. So I canceled it, but we’ll do it in the future.” Putin suggested the summit was likely postponed. The leaders last met in Alaska in August. Russia has indicated its terms for ending the war - conditions Kyiv and many European countries view as tantamount to surrender - remain unchanged. The fighting continued as EU leaders and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Brussels on Thursday to discuss funding for Ukraine. EU leaders pledged to help meet Ukraine’s urgent financial needs for the next two years but stopped short of explicitly backing use of frozen Russian assets to provide Kyiv a large loan, amid concerns voiced by Belgium. Moscow warned it would give a “painful response” if the assets were seized.
Zelensky urges more pressure on Moscow Ukraine’s President Zelensky called the sanctions “very important” but said stronger pressure would be necessary to bring Moscow to accept a ceasefire. After meeting Putin in August, Trump dropped a demand for an immediate ceasefire and favored moving directly to a broader peace agreement - but in recent days he’s returned to supporting an immediate ceasefire, which Kyiv wants and Moscow has repeatedly rejected as it presses gains on the battlefield. Russia says a ceasefire would be only a temporary pause that would allow Ukraine to rearm. Separately, EU and NATO member Lithuania reported that two Russian military aircraft briefly entered its airspace on Thursday, prompting a formal protest and a NATO response, which Russia denied.
EU targets Russian LNG In another effort to cut Moscow’s revenue, the European Union adopted its 19th sanctions package on Thursday, banning Russian liquefied natural gas imports and targeting some entities including Chinese refiners and Central Asian banks. The EU has cut its reliance on Russian energy by about 90 percent since 2022 but still imported over €11 billion of Russian energy in the first eight months of this year. LNG is now the largest category of Russian energy imported by the EU. Russia’s oil and gas revenue, down about 21 percent year-on-year, makes up roughly a quarter of its budget and is a key funding source for the war, now in its fourth year. However, much of Russia’s revenue comes from taxing domestic output rather than exports, which may blunt the short-term fiscal impact of the sanctions on state finances.
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