Donald Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him that India would stop buying oil from Russia - a move that the US president described as a big step in efforts to isolate Moscow economically, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they would no longer buy oil from Russia“, Trump told reporters at the White House. “This is a big step. Now we will get China to do the same,” the president added.
The Indian embassy in Washington has not yet responded to emailed questions about whether Modi had made such a commitment to Trump.
A promise by India to stop buying Russian oil would mark a potential turning point in global energy diplomacy. Washington is trying to cut off Moscow’s oil revenues amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, Reuters noted.
It would also be a significant shift in the position of one of Russia’s main energy customers and could change the accounts of other countries that still import Russian crude.
He said India cannot immediately stop supplies. “It is a process, but this process will be over soon,” Trump said.
"Lukoil" and "Rosneft" are subject to asset freezes, director disqualifications, transport restrictions and a ban on British trust services, FOCUS reported.
The United Kingdom has imposed sanctions on Russian oil companies. In the case of "Rosneft", the British government has banned ships owned, controlled, chartered or operated by the company from entering British ports.
The new sanctions target 51 ships belonging to Russia's so-called "shadow fleet", as well as individuals and organizations from various sectors, including energy and defense. Information about this is published in the sanctions list on the UK government website.
The British government has indicated that the two companies are strategically important to the Kremlin, and their activities are of key economic importance to the Russian state, with their contribution to the budget helping to finance the war in Ukraine.
"We are introducing targeted sanctions against the two largest oil companies in Russia - "Lukoil" and "Rosneft", said British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves during a visit to the United States. Reeves stressed that "there is no place for Russia in global markets" and that the UK will take all necessary steps to stop Moscow from financing its war in Ukraine.
"Rosneft" is the leading oil producer in Russia, and "Lukoil" is the second largest and has the largest international presence among Russian companies.
The Helsinki Court of Appeal has upheld the seizure of millions of Russian state assets in Finland, Helsingin Sanomat reported, quoted by FOKUS.
The country's appeals court has upheld the district court's decision of June last year. At the time, the Helsinki District Court ruled that there were no legal obstacles to the seizure of Russian assets in Finland, even though Russia said it considered the seizures illegal.
The district court said that it was possible for Russia to lose the assets, but considered the seizure to be legal in all respects.
The Finnish court did not give permission for the Russian Federation to continue the case. However, Moscow has the right to appeal to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal the Court of Appeal's refusal to hear the case.
The measures to freeze Russian assets are based on a ruling issued by the International Court of Arbitration in The Hague in April 2023, which ordered Russia to pay over 5 billion euros to Ukrainian energy company ''Naftogaz'' as compensation for damages caused during the seizure of Crimea.
Russia refused to pay. ''Naftogaz'' therefore initiated international proceedings aimed at enforcing the ruling in countries where Russia has assets. One such country is Finland.
A year ago, Finland began seizing Russian state assets.
The asset freeze prevents Russia from selling or transferring its assets to Finland. Selling the seized assets still requires a separate court order, which can go all the way to the Supreme Court and take years.
The Ukrainian company ''Naftogaz'' has also filed lawsuits to seize Russian assets in many other Western countries. In Austria, the company won a lawsuit against Russia. There, real estate owned by the Russian state was confiscated for 120 million euros. According to the court's decision, the real estate can be sold at auction and the money used for the benefit of the Ukrainian company.