"China seeking to purchase Russian oil"

Russian media said that senior U.S. officials responded to "China seeking to purchase Russian oil": not violating U.S. sanctions against Russia

Bloomberg announced on the 19th that China is discussing with Russia to purchase oil to supplement its strategic reserves. Neither Chinese nor Russian officials have commented on this claim. The U.S. government was the first to respond. Asked about the report, US Presidential National Security Adviser Sullivan said that in the US view, China's purchase of Russian oil to replenish strategic reserves does not violate US sanctions against Russia, according to ITASS.

At the same time, Reuters reported on the 19th that a White House official said that China’s purchase of oil from Russia to replenish its strategic reserves does not violate U.S. sanctions against Russia, but did not name the official as Sullivan.

Bloomberg quoted sources as saying on the 19th that Beijing is currently discussing with Moscow to increase Russia's oil supply, aiming to supplement the strategic oil reserve. A source said that the possible supply and other matters are not yet clear, and the signing of the agreement for the deal is still to be determined.

The foreign ministries of China and Russia did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Bloomberg said. The National Development and Reform Commission of China said in a statement on the 19th that in response to rising oil and natural gas prices, China has adopted various methods to import fuel.

Asked for comment on the news, Sullivan said, "We (the U.S.) prohibit oil imports from Russia, but we do not restrict Russia's oil sales to other countries, so when other countries buy Russian oil," Sullivan said, according to TASS. , which is not inconsistent with the sanctions we have imposed."

"Now, of course, the Europeans are considering embargoing Russian oil, and we support that," Sullivan said. He also said that it would be easier for the United States to ban oil imports from Russia than the European Union, because the United States is also an energy producer, "whereas the situation in the European Union is different."

In addition, when asked "whether the United States is satisfied with China's current position of not helping Russia to evade sanctions", Sullivan responded that Washington "has not yet seen evidence of China's supply of weapons and equipment to Russia", and he also said that the United States "has not See China systematically helping Russia evade Western sanctions."

According to the news previously released by the Chinese embassy in Russia, Zhang Hanhui, the Chinese ambassador to Russia, accepted an exclusive interview with TASS on May 5. When asked, "Whether China is going to buy more Russian oil and gas, and whether China can make up for Russia's possible losses in the European market," Zhang Hanhui responded that China and Russia are each other's important strategic partners in the field of oil and gas. New progress, oil and gas-based energy cooperation has always been the field with the heaviest weight, the most achievements and the widest scope in Sino-Russian pragmatic cooperation. At present, Russia has become one of China's most important oil and gas suppliers, and China is also an important market for Russia's oil and gas exports. China's energy market has huge potential and demand is rising. The two sides will continue to follow the spirit of equality and mutual benefit, give full play to the leading role of major strategic projects, and continuously deepen the integration of upstream, midstream and downstream cooperation in the traditional energy field, so as to achieve mutual complementarity and mutual benefit.