"Put Pressure on China for Supporting Russian Invasion”: Trump Asks Europe to Halt Russian Oil Purchases

After heavy impositions on India regarding oil imports, US President Donald Trump has now urged European leaders to stop buying Russian oil. He has warned that such trade was helping Moscow fund its war in Ukraine and thereby called on European countries to increase economic pressure on China over its support for Russia’s invasion.

Speaking to AFP on the condition of anonymity, a senior White House official stated that the U.S. President made the remarks during a call with the “Coalition of the Willing,” a group of nations led by French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss new measures in support of Ukraine’s defense against Russia.

According to the official, “President Macron and European leaders called President Trump into their ‘Coalition of the Willing’ meeting.”

While addressing the European leaders in Paris via video conference, Trump said, "Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war," the White House official said.

“President Trump emphasised that Europe must stop purchasing Russian oil that is funding the war, as Russia received 1.1 billion euros in fuel sales from the EU in one year. The President also emphasised that European leaders must place economic pressure on China for funding Russia’s war efforts,” he added.

The meeting was also joined by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said that Trump is "very dissatisfied" with European purchases of Russian oil, identifying Hungary and Slovakia as buyers. Zelensky further mentioned that the call with Trump and European leaders also covered sanctions on Russia and measures to protect Ukraine’s airspace.

Last month, tensions between India and the United States deepened after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an additional 25% tariff on select Indian exports, thereby doubling the duty on the affected goods to 50%. The new tariffs came into force from 27 August onwards.

According to the White House, it a response to New Delhi's continued purchase of Russian Federation oil and that the Trump administration is establishing a process for the potential imposition of similar tariffs on other countries that directly or indirectly import oil from the Russian Federation.

After this development, India became the most heavily taxed US trading partner alongside Brazil, far above its rivals such as China, Vietnam and Bangladesh.