.@POTUS is right to demand that Europe stop buying Russian oil. The good news is that Europe has substantially reduced their purchases of Russian oil and gas.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) September 15, 2025
When it comes to buying Russian oil, it is now virtually down to Hungary and Slovakia. I hope and expect them to step up…
US President Donald Trump on Saturday said he was prepared to impose sweeping sanctions on Russia if all NATO members did the same and if they stopped buying Russian oil. On Sunday, he made it clear that he did not care whether it was oil or other products."They should not be buying from Russia, whether it is natural gas or cigarettes, I do not care," he said.
Graham agreed with Trump regarding his request, but at the same time called it good news that European countries have significantly reduced their purchases of fossil fuels from Russia in recent years.
"When it comes to buying Russian oil, it currently concerns Hungary and Slovakia. I hope and expect that they will soon join our efforts and help us end this bloodshed. If not, there should and will be consequences," the influential senator and Trump ally wrote on the social network X on Tuesday night.
Politico magazine reported that before the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union as a whole imported 45 percent of its natural gas and 27 percent of its oil from Russia.
This share fell to 19% for gas and 3% for oil last year when the European Commission banned imports by sea. In 2024, EU countries spent €21.9 billion on Russian fossil fuels, representing around 10% of Russia's total global export revenues.
A report from the Finnish Energy and Clean Air Research Center in May said that Hungary"increased its dependence on Russian oil from 61 percent before the invasion to 86 percent in 2024," while Slovakia "remained almost 100 percent dependent on supplies from Russia."
Budapest and Bratislava, which are seeking friendlier relations with Moscow, are now rejecting calls to seek alternative energy sources, according to Politico. Both also oppose the European Union's plan to stop importing Russian gas to EU member states from January 1, 2028.
