India ‘stopped’ buying oil from Russia, claims US Treasury Secretary

Key Highlights

• The proposal has near-unanimous backing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
• While speaking on the bill, Bessent said that it is a proposal that Senator Graham has in front of the Senate and “we will see whether that passes.
• We don’t believe that President Trump needs that authority, that he can do it under IEEPA, but that the Senate wants to give him that authority.” Bessent also accused Europe of buying Russian oil and funding Russia’s war against Ukraine. “And just, just to be clear that we have Europe buying Russian oil, still, still, or four years later, they are financing the war against themselves,” Bessent added.
• India fell to third place among buyers of Russian fossil fuels in December after Reliance Industries and state-owned refiners sharply cut crude oil imports, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
• India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, emerged as the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.