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Gunvor: New sanctions against Russian oil buyers will disrupt flow, according to trader Gunvor

Frederic Lasserre said that new sanctions against buyers of Russian crude oil could disrupt crude flow, according to the global head of research and analyses at energy trader Gunvor, Frederic Lasserre.

His comments followed after U.S. president Donald Trump, seeking to broker a resolution to the Ukraine conflict said he was ready to move into a second stage of sanctions against Russia in order to reduce the oil revenues and bring Vladimir Putin to the negotiation table.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on Sunday that both the U.S. & the European Union can impose "secondary tariffs" on countries that purchase Russian oil.

India is the second largest buyer of Russian crude oil after China.

Lasserre told the APPEC Conference that President Trump was serious about imposing tougher sanctions. He added that sanctions against Russia and Iran would have a negative impact on supplies of more than one million barrels per daily (bpd).

"But, the issue is about the nature of sanctions... Today, if you do not impose any sanctions against the buyers, China and India, the rest is just rhetoric."

Trump has said that India's oil exports help fund the war effort in Moscow and imposed a tariff of 50% on Indian imports.

New Delhi says its purchases of Russian crude oil have helped to keep the market in balance, and has prevented global oil prices from rising.

Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Finance Minister, said on Friday that India would continue to purchase Russian oil if it is cost-effective.

Lasserre stated that the recent meetings and speeches by leaders from China, Russia India Brazil, at recent summts, indicate they will not accept "any further" sanctions.

Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted over 20 leaders from non-Western nations for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit (SCO), including Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Indian Premier Narendra Modi.

Putin and Modi held hands as they walked towards Xi, before the three men stood together. (Reporting and editing by Florence Tan, Mohi Naryan; writing by Nidhi verma; editing by Sonali Paul).

(source: Reuters)