Bandar Seri Begawan. The European Union (EU) is urging ASEAN economies, including Indonesia, to stay away from Russian crude oil, as countries grapple with the world’s worst energy crisis in decades.

Southeast Asia has turned to Moscow for crude as Iran’s shuttering of the Hormuz Strait -- which handles a quarter of global oil maritime trade -- puts a strain on energy flows. Russia has agreed to supply crude and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Indonesia. Malaysia and Vietnam are also pivoting to Moscow for energy supplies. Speaking to the press in Brunei, Kaja Kallas, the vice president of the European Commission, warned that Moscow could use the oil money to bankroll the Ukraine war, which had passed the 4-year mark. 

“We are advocating for diversifying resources and finding them elsewhere, not from Russia,” Kallas said, when asked by the Jakarta Globe about ASEAN’s Moscow oil deals. 

Kallas, who is also the bloc's foreign policy chief, said the wars would end “when aggressors run out of money to finance them”. She went on to say: “It’s in our interest that the revenues from Russian oil are actually shrinking”.

“The energy crisis is benefiting Russia.”

The EU has slapped sanctions on Russian oil to cripple its ability to fund the war. Just recently, the European bloc launched fresh packages, which introduce a port infrastructure ban on Indonesia’s Karimun Oil Terminal. The EU alleged that the port had links to Russia’s shadow fleet, a network of vessels used to transport oil to circumvent Western price caps.

Jakarta clinched the Russian crude deal during President Prabowo Subianto’s trip to Moscow earlier this month. The government has remained tight-lipped on the details, including the volume. Prabowo’s younger brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo claimed that Indonesia would buy 150 million barrels of oil.

Deputy Foreign Minister Armanatha Nasir said that no European delegate so far had brought up Jakarta’s Russian oil purchase.

“Nobody had raised this issue. There is no mention of the [Russian crude], be it in the forum, hallways, or the pull-aside meetings. Our focus here is to boost relations, be it bilaterally or bloc-to-bloc,” Arrmanatha told the Globe later that day. 

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