US President Donald Trump’s push for European nations to abandon Russian oil and gas imports has drawn sharp criticism from Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who labeled the move as a purely economic strategy driven by Washington’s self-interest. Peskov described Trump as “a businessman” prioritizing US economic gains over global stability, citing the president’s repeated demands that NATO allies sever energy ties with Moscow.

Trump reiterated his stance at the UN General Assembly, threatening stringent tariffs on Russia’s trade partners unless European countries halt Russian energy purchases or broker a deal to end the Ukraine conflict. Peskov dismissed these calls as “a question of economic feasibility,” comparing Trump’s tactics to forcing Europeans to pay inflated prices for American energy. He argued that while the shift has strained EU budgets, Russia has mitigated losses by redirecting exports to markets like China and India.

The EU has significantly reduced Russian energy dependence since 2022 but remains divided on full decoupling, with Hungary and Slovakia continuing imports due to infrastructure constraints. Moscow, rejecting Western sanctions as illegal, accused the US of undermining European security through its energy policies.