US warns Europe of funding Russia’s war via India oil trade

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday sharply criticised several European nations for indirectly financing Russia’s war in Ukraine by buying oil products refined in India from Russian crude, even as Washington has slapped steep tariffs on New Delhi for its energy ties with Moscow.

In remarks aired ahead of a high-level India-EU summit, Bessent accused Europe of undermining Western sanctions and energy policy objectives by continuing to import refined fuels that originated from Russian oil processed in Indian refineries.

“We have put 25 per cent tariffs on India for buying Russian oil. Guess what happened last week? The Europeans signed a trade deal with India. Just to be clear again, the Russian oil goes into India, the refined products come out and the Europeans buy the refined products. They are financing the war against themselves,” Bessent said in an interview.

Bessent, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, framed his comments as a critique of what he described as a lack of consistent European alignment with US efforts to cut off revenue streams to Moscow. Washington’s punitive measures include tariffs of up to 50 per cent on Indian imports connected to Russian oil purchases.

Although direct imports of Russian crude by many European countries have declined, Bessent argued that trading in refined petroleum products sourced indirectly via India still channelled economic benefits back to Russia.

The comments came just a day before India and the EU were poised to formally announce the conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive free trade agreement, dubbed the “mother of all trade deals” by European officials.