China, like India, is scaling back Russian oil purchases at President Trump’s request, says US

India and China are both scaling back their Russian oil purchases at US President Donald Trump’s request, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt at a press briefing. This came after Trump reiterated that he again spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that India would cut down its Russian oil purchases to nothing by the end of the year.

Leavitt said, "If you read the sanctions and look at them, they are pretty hefty. I saw some international news this morning that China is scaling back oil purchases from Russia. We know India has done the same at the President’s request. The President has also pushed European countries, our allies, to please stop their purchases of Russian oil as well."

The US has imposed fresh sanctions on two of Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, further aiming at Kremlin’s energy revenues. The White House expects the sanctions to do harm to Moscow. The decision, announced by the US Treasury Department, is the first direct action targeting Russia’s energy giants during Trump’s second term and signals heightened frustration in Washington as the conflict continues. Officials noted that previous efforts relied primarily on trade levers, but the new sanctions represent a sharper approach aimed at restricting the Kremlin’s financial resources.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, “Given President Putin’s refusal to end this senseless war, Treasury is sanctioning Russia’s two largest oil companies that fund the Kremlin’s war machine.” He called on allied nations to adopt similar measures. The US Treasury’s move aligns with recent actions taken by the United Kingdom, which blacklisted both Rosneft and Lukoil earlier in the week, further isolating Russia’s oil industry from Western markets. 

Meanwhile, Trump said India has agreed to cut Russian oil purchases down. "India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop...it's a process. You can't just stop (buying oil from Russia). By the end of the year, they'll be down to almost nothing; that's a big thing. They were almost 40 percent of the oil. India, they've been great. Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday. They've been absolutely great,” he told reporters.

Additionally, a Reuters report stated that Indian refiners are preparing significant reductions in Russian oil imports to align with newly imposed US sanctions targeting Russian producers. Both public and private sector refiners are recalibrating strategies as the United States requires companies to conclude transactions with Russian firms such as Rosneft and Lukoil by November 21. Reliance Industries, India’s largest private importer of Russian crude, is reportedly planning to reduce or halt its purchases. Other state-run refiners, including Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, are reviewing bills of lading for Russian crude scheduled to arrive after the November deadline.