Callas urged Southeast Asian countries not to buy oil from Russia

EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas has called on Southeast Asian countries to stop purchasing Russian oil amid energy challenges caused by the situation in the Middle East.

This was reported by Reuters.

According to her, Russia has benefited from the conflict surrounding Iran, which has led to the de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz—a key route for a significant portion of global energy supplies.

Kallas emphasized that Russia is using oil revenues to finance the war against Ukraine.

“Let me remind you that oil revenues are the funds Russia uses to finance the war. We are interested in seeing this war end,” she said after a meeting with ASEAN foreign ministers in Brunei.

She also stressed the need to diversify energy sources and called for seeking alternative suppliers instead of Russia.

At the same time, Kallas did not specify whether this issue was discussed directly during the talks with ASEAN representatives.

According to Reuters, a number of countries in the region, including Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia, had previously considered increasing their purchases of Russian oil.

EU foreign ministers agreed to tighten sanctions against Iran in response to restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

During a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaia Kallas presented the “fourth pillar” of future security guarantees for Ukraine. According to her, EU foreign ministers agreed to continue working in this direction.