US wants Europe to stop buying Russian oil, join proposed sanctions: WH official

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration wants Europe to stop buying Russian oil and join in its proposed sanctions targeting nations that continue to, a senior White House official told The Post on Tuesday.

Some European countries continue to rely on Moscow to meet their energy needs, helping to fuel Russia’s war machine despite reducing their reliance since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to a February report by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

While China, India and Turkey make up nearly 75% of all Russian fossil-fuel purchases with a combined $187.3 billion in sales last year, European nations still collectively purchased roughly $25.5 billion worth of them in 2024, according to the report by the Helsinki-based think tank. The US does not import Russian oil.

The figures mean Europe spent more money importing Russian oil last year than it did on financial aid for Ukraine, which was estimated to be roughly $21.7 billion.

The idea of the proposed US sanctions has been around, but now, after weeks of stalled peace efforts, President Trump is again considering them — but European partners must be willing to join in, the senior official said.

“The US wants Europe to join in sanctions with Washington and to stop purchasing Russian oil,” the person said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s top adviser, Andriy Yermak, told The Post he believed Europe would be willing to join the US should Washington bring the sanctions — and pledged to bring the ask to European leaders during talks this week.

“I understand it’s necessary [for the US to receive] additional signal from Europe that [pending] American sanctions, they will immediately join and … [be] ready to not buy Russian oil,” he said. “I understand, and it will be communicated.”

The White House push for European cooperation comes as Trump said Tuesday that he is “very disappointed” with Russian President Vladimir Putin after their peace-designed summit in Alaska, as the dictator continues to bomb Kyiv and avoid meeting with Zelensky.

“I’m very disappointed in President Putin, I can say that, and we’ll be doing something that will help people live,” Trump told CNN’s Scott Jennings.

“You know, it’s not a question of Ukraine — it’s helping people live. Seven thousand people are dying every single week, soldiers, mostly — but 7,000 people,” Trump said. “And if I can help to stop that, I think I have an obligation to do it.”

Trump has already issued 50% tariffs on India partly because of the country’s commitment to purchasing Russian oil.

The US meanwhile also wants to see Europe offer more to Ukraine in terms of security guarantees in the event of the war’s end, the senior White House official told The Post.

“The US wants to see the Europeans step up in their support for Ukraine’s security and prosperity after the war,” the source said, without detailing specifics.

The US and European partners for weeks have been hammering out potential security guarantees that could deter Russian from re-invading Ukraine in the future as part of the peace process. Those efforts continue this week, Yermak said.