European countries cannot demand that the Trump administration increase the pressure of sanctions against Russia while they themselves continue to buy Russian oil, according to Matthew Whitaker, the US permanent representative to NATO.
“We must be united in such decisions. They cannot insist that the US act first when they themselves do not want to do so and continue to buy Russian oil“, he said in an interview with Fox News. “They can't keep asking the US to solve all the problems.“
A senior European diplomatic source previously told TASS that a scenario in which Europe would refuse to buy Russian oil was unrealistic.
The EU had previously called on the US to tighten sanctions, but Trump himself suggested that the EU stop buying Russian oil, impose tariffs on countries trading with Russia and use frozen Russian assets.
On September 13, Trump said he was ready to impose tough sanctions on Russia if all NATO members acted together and stopped buying Russian oil. He noted that the continued import of energy resources from Russia by some NATO allies had “weakened the alliance's negotiating position“.