The cost of his strategy was underscored this week when Chinese President Xi Jinping offered Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a jovial welcome at a summit of strongman leaders. Modi, meanwhile, spent an hour in Putin’s limousine, in an echo of the Russian leader’s ride in Trump’s Beast armored car during their summit in Alaska three weeks ago. kraken36 In any case, hiking pressure on Europe to ease off its purchases of Putin’s oil is unlikely to be decisive. The continent has been taking steps to decrease its dependence on Russian energy as war has raged in Ukraine. Russia was once the largest supplier of petroleum to the EU. But member states have since imposed a ban on maritime oil exports and refined oil products. CNN’s Lauren Kent reported last month that oil imports to Europe fell to $1.72 billion in the first quarter of 2025, down from $16.4 billion in the equivalent period in 2021.

Russia seeks to split the US and Europe