Latest news with #RussianCrudeOil
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Russian oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia halted after Ukrainian attack
BUDAPEST, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Russian crude oil flows to Hungary and Slovakia via the Druzhba pipeline were halted on Monday, officials in Hungary and Slovakia said, with Budapest blaming a Ukrainian attack on a transformer station. Unlike most other EU countries, Hungary has kept up its reliance on Russian energy since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. It imports most of its crude via the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Belarus and Ukraine to Hungary and also Slovakia. Szijjarto wrote on Facebook that he had talked to Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin who told him that experts were working to restore the transformer station, but it was unclear when deliveries would resume. "This latest strike against our energy security is outrageous and unacceptable," Szijjarto wrote. He did not say when or where the attack took place. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha neither confirmed nor denied the account of the attack, but wrote on X that Hungary "can now send complaints" to Moscow, not Kyiv. "It is Russia, not Ukraine, who began this war and refuses to end it. Hungary has been told for years that Moscow is an unreliable partner. Despite this, Hungary has made every effort to maintain its reliance on Russia," Sybiha wrote. Slovak pipeline operator Transpetrol confirmed that the supply of oil to Slovakia through the Druzhba pipeline had stopped. "Our company does not know more information about the reason for the suspension, which is outside the territory of the Slovak Republic. Oil transportation through Slovak territory is ensured and carried out in accordance with the pumping plan," the company said. Ukraine's defence ministry and armed forces, and Hungarian oil company MOL , did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Last year Szijjarto said the Druzhba pipeline would remain Hungary's primary route for crude oil imports. Monday's suspension of oil deliveries comes after a temporary halt last week when Ukraine's military said on August 13 that its drones had hit the Uniecha oil pumping station in Russia's Bryansk region.
Al Jazeera
16 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
India's purchase of Russian oil has to stop, says US trade adviser
White House trade adviser Peter Navarro says India's purchases of Russian crude oil are funding Moscow's war in Ukraine and have to stop, as Washington ramps up pressure on New Delhi to cut off its energy imports from Russia. 'India acts as a global clearinghouse for Russian oil, converting embargoed crude into high-value exports while giving Moscow the dollars it needs,' Navarro wrote in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times on Monday. He added that India's dependence on Russian crude is 'opportunistic and deeply corrosive of the world's efforts to isolate Putin's war economy'. In the beginning of this month, United States President Donald Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Indian goods over the issue, straining US-India ties. In a speech on the occasion of India's Independence Day on Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi struck a defiant note, pledging to protect his country's farmers in the face of high tariffs slapped by the Trump administration. 'Modi will stand like a wall against any policy that threatens their interests. India will never compromise when it comes to protecting the interests of our farmers,' he said. India-Russia ties India counts Russia among its closest defence partners, with the bulk of its weapons, including the S-400 missile defence system, sourced from Moscow. India has continued to maintain good ties with Russia, with Modi meeting Putin in Moscow amid the Ukraine war. But New Delhi has been cultivating ties with Washington in the past decades, raising their relations to a strategic level. The two countries have annual bilateral trade of $128bn, but Trump has been pushing to lower the $45bn deficit in India's favour. The US also saw India as a bulwark against rising China, but the recent actions by the Trump administration seem to have pushed India to mend ties with its rival, China. Indian Prime Minister Modi is set to travel to China at the end of the month, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is arriving in India on Monday on a two-day trip, for talks on the disputed border between the two countries. In the opinion piece on Monday, the White House adviser pointed out that India is 'cozying up' to Russia and China. 'If India wants to be treated as a strategic partner of the US, it needs to start acting like one,' Navarro wrote. The adviser also said it was risky to transfer cutting-edge US military capabilities to India as New Delhi's ties to China and Russia deepen. 'Unfairly singled out' India's Foreign Ministry has said the country is being 'unfairly' singled out for buying Russian oil while the US and European Union continue to buy goods from Russia. The EU and US trade much more with Russia than India does – New Delhi's contention for being singled out – although this trade has dipped significantly since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. According to the EU, its total trade with Russia was worth 67.5 billion euros ($77.9bn) in 2024, a fall from 257.5 billion euros ($297.4bn) in 2021. The bloc also continues to buy Russian gas – $105.6bn for gas imports since the war began – an amount equivalent to 75 percent of Russia's 2024 military budget, according to the Finnish think tank the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Total Russia-US trade in 2024, meanwhile, stood at $5.2bn, according to the US Trade Representative's office – though significantly down from 2021, when it stood at $36bn. India and the US have also been haggling for months to agree on a free trade agreement, with Trump accusing New Delhi of denying access to US goods by imposing high tariffs. Meanwhile, a planned visit by US trade negotiators to New Delhi from August 25 to 29 has been called off, a source told the Reuters news agency, delaying talks on a proposed trade agreement meant to be a relief from additional US tariffs on Indian goods.
Reuters
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Hungary FM Szijjarto says Russian oil flows to Hungary halted after Ukraine attack on pipeline
BUDAPEST, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Russian crude oil flows to Hungary were halted after Ukraine attacked a transformer station of the pipeline leading to Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post on Monday. Szijjarto said that he has talked to Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin who informed him that experts were working to restore the transformer station but it was unclear when deliveries will resume.
Al Arabiya
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Hungary says Russian oil flows to Hungary halted after Ukraine attack on pipeline
Russian crude oil flows to Hungary were halted after Ukraine attacked a transformer station of the pipeline leading to Hungary, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post on Monday. Szijjarto said that he has talked to Russian Deputy Energy Minister Pavel Sorokin who informed him that experts were working to restore the transformer station but it was unclear when deliveries will resume. Developing
The Independent
5 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
US warns India could face higher tariffs if Trump-Putin talks fail
The US said India could be slapped with a higher tariff rate if Donald Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin failed to end the war in Ukraine. Washington hit New Delhi with a 25 per cent import tariff on 31 July and then a 25 per cent penalty on 6 August primarily for its continued purchase of Russian crude oil, bringing the effective rate to a steep 50 per cent. US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said Washington could hike the secondary tariff imposed on India after Mr Trump warned of "very severe consequences" if a ceasefire deal was not reached in Alaska on Friday. "We've put secondary tariffs on Indians for buying Russian oil. And I could see, if things don't go well, then sanctions or secondary tariffs could go up," Mr Bessent told Bloomberg TV on Wednesday. "President Trump is meeting with President Putin, and the Europeans are in the wings carping about how he should do it, what he should do. The Europeans need to join us in these sanctions. The Europeans need to be willing to put on these secondary sanctions.' Mr Trump is travelling to Anchorage, Alaska, on Friday for a high-stakes meeting with the Russian leader. He says the talks are aimed at "setting the table" for a follow-up summit involving Ukraine as well. On Wednesday, Mr Trump threatened "severe consequences" if Mr Putin didn't agree to a truce in Ukraine but did not specify what the consequences could be or for whom. 'There will be, I don't have to say, there will be very severe consequences,' Mr Trump said at the Kennedy Centre in Washington after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky suggested, in a virtual meeting with the US president, that Mr Putin was bluffing about seeking peace. Mr Trump has been attacking India in recent days for its refusal to stop buying oil from Russia. He has accused India of financing Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing discounted crude from Moscow. India has responded that it needs cheap oil to meet the energy needs of its fast-growing economy. India has been sourcing nearly a third of its oil needs from Russia since the Ukraine war began in early 2022. It is now the second-largest importer of Russian crude after China. In an unusually sharp response, India accused the US of hypocrisy in punishing it for buying Russian oil while continuing to buy Russian uranium hexafluoride, palladium and fertiliser itself. Narendra Modi's government called the US tariffs "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" and vowed to "take all actions necessary to protect its national interests'. On Thursday, India's foreign ministry said it hoped relations with the US would move forward based on mutual respect and shared interests. For India, the steep US levies threaten to disrupt access to its largest export market where its shipments totalled nearly $87bn (£65bn) in 2024, hitting sectors like textiles, footwear, gems and jewellery. The increased levies place Indian exporters at a 30-35 per cent disadvantage versus rivals in Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Japan, according to Reuters. It is also expected to shake up India's employment sector, with millions of jobs on the line in textiles, gems, leather and chemicals companies. Talks for a trade deal have been ongoing for several months. It is believed that India's reluctance to reduce duties on agriculture and dairy is a major sticking point in reaching an agreement.
