Kallas Urges ASEAN to Shun Russian Oil
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- Kaja Kallas told ASEAN foreign ministers in Brunei on April 28 that Southeast Asian countries should seek oil from sources other than Russia amid fuel shortages triggered by the Middle East conflict.
- The EU approved a fresh round of Russia sanctions in April, including tightened oil-trade restrictions, aimed at undermining Moscow's ability to fund its war in Ukraine.
- The closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a route carrying about a fifth of the world's oil supplies — caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran has benefited Russia, Kallas said, and she claimed without elaborating that Russian oil purchases are in turn helping Iran maintain the closure.
- Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia are among Southeast Asian nations seeking to source more oil from Russia, per a March Reuters report cited in the article.
- Vladimir Putin met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on April 27 and "openly praised Iran for their heroic battles against America," which Kallas cited to question whether the Trump administration will refocus on Ukraine peace efforts.
Why it matters: Southeast Asia's energy purchases are now a direct line item in the Ukraine war's funding equation: if Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia keep ramping up Russian crude, the EU's tightened April sanctions lose practical force. Kallas is trying to convert an ASEAN audience facing real fuel shortages into a sanctions partner — while publicly flagging that the US has not pressured Russia over its Iran alignment.
