US imposes sanctions on Russia’s top oil giants to push for Ukraine peace talks
New Delhi, Oct 23: The United States has announced sweeping new sanctions against Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, in what Washington described as an effort to pressure Moscow into negotiating a peace settlement in Ukraine, the BBC reported on Wednesday.
Announcing the measures, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions were necessary because of “President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war.” He added that the two companies were key sources of funding for the Kremlin’s “war machine.” “Now is the time to stop the killing and for an immediate ceasefire,” Bessent said in a statement quoted by the BBC.
The sanctions announcement came a day after President Donald Trump said a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest had been postponed indefinitely. Speaking at the White House alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump said he hoped the new measures would compel Moscow to take peace efforts seriously. “I just felt it was time. We waited a long time,” Trump said, calling the sanctions package “tremendous.” According to the BBC, the move follows an intense Russian bombardment earlier in the day that killed at least seven people, including children, in Ukraine.
US sanctions on Russian firms to hit Reliance; PSUs likely to keep buying Russian oil via traders
Press Trust of India added that the US sanctions against two of Russia’s largest oil companies are expected to impact Reliance Industries’ crude imports from Russia, while state-run refiners may continue purchases through intermediary traders for now. PTI further added that Industry sources said public-sector units are assessing compliance risks but are unlikely to halt Russian crude flows immediately, as they buy almost all of their needs from traders, mostly European (who are out of the sanctions net). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Ltd - India’s largest buyer of Russian crude, accounting for roughly half of the country’s 1.7 million barrels per day of imports from Moscow, may, however have to recalibrate its imports as it buys crude oil directly from Russia’s Rosneft, they said, reports PTI.
