American Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged Turkey to reduce its purchases of Russian oil, in the context of the sanctions imposed by the USA.

During a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, American Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio conveyed a call to NATO countries, including Turkey, to reduce purchases of Russian oil. Although Turkey is the third largest buyer of Russian oil, after China and India, Turkish refineries have recently begun to decrease purchases of Russian crude oil as a result of the sanctions imposed by the U.S. on Russian oil companies.

However, Turkey does not intend to completely stop these purchases. Russia remains Turkey's largest supplier of natural gas, and negotiations for long-term contracts are ongoing, considering that current agreements expire at the end of the year. Experts from Bloomberg Economics suggest that, although U.S. pressure may pose a problem, diversifying supply sources allows Turkey to manage the impact on import costs. This information comes in the context of the U.S. recently granting Hungary a waiver from sanctions on Russian oil for one year.