Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that Russia is ready to conditionally resume oil and gas supplies to Europe, as the US–Israeli war on Iran has effectively brought shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to a halt.Speaking at a televised meeting with government officials and the heads of Russia’s leading oil and gas producers on Monday, 9 March, Putin said that Moscow was open to working again with European customers who largely halted purchases of Russian energy to avoid funding the war in Ukraine, if they wished to return to long-term cooperation.
Putin stated that Russia was “waiting for signals” of readiness from Europe and would continue supplying oil and gas to reliable buyers, including Slovakia and Hungary. In a significant parallel development, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed that Washington had eased sanctions on some volumes of Russian oil to help stabilise global energy markets following the Middle East escalation and that the US was looking to take further steps to bring oil prices down. Europe, meanwhile, remains torn facing soaring energy bills while being deeply reluctant to rekindle its dependence on Moscow.
Oil Tops $100, Europe Scrambles And Russia Waits
Putin spoke as oil prices exceeded $100 per barrel on Monday, reaching peaks unseen since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with Brent crude the international benchmark rising by more than 30 per cent in a week and at one point topping $119 a barrel as fears of prolonged supply disruption deepened.
Putin warned that oil production tied to the Strait of Hormuz risks coming to a complete stop within a month, that global inflation is rising as a consequence of the energy disruption and that LNG supplies from the Middle East have dropped sharply with weeks or months needed to restore them. He also noted that storage facilities across the Middle East are filled with oil that “cannot be removed in any way” either too difficult or too expensive to export making a full switch away from Hormuz-dependent supply “unrealistic, at least for now.”
On the diplomatic front, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán called on the European Union to suspend sanctions on Russian energy imports, citing rising energy prices across Europe, while the European Commission announced plans to present new measures to lower electricity costs and tackle energy poverty, including reducing electricity taxes and making it easier for consumers to switch energy suppliers. The G7 nations said they were prepared to implement “necessary measures” in response to surging oil prices, but stopped short of committing to release emergency reserves.
Narrow Waterway Brought World’s Energy System To Its Knees
The crisis began on 28 February 2026, following joint US–Israeli military strikes on Iran under Operation Epic Fury which resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prompting Iran to launch retaliatory missile and drone attacks on US military bases, Israeli territory and Gulf states, while its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued warnings prohibiting vessel passage through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tanker traffic fell by approximately 70 per cent, with over 150 ships anchoring outside the strait, before dropping to near zero; major shipping firms including Maersk, CMA CGM and Hapag-Lloyd suspended transits; and Yemen’s Houthi-controlled government announced it would resume attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, forcing Suez Canal traffic to be rerouted around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks to transit times.
On 6 March, Qatar’s Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi warned that if the conflict continued, Gulf energy producers may be forced to halt exports entirely and declare force majeure, cautioning that “this will bring down economies of the world.”
Kuwait declared force majeure on 7 March and the UAE also lowered oil production. The crisis has a pronounced impact on South Asia: Qatar and the UAE together account for 99 per cent of Pakistan’s LNG imports, 72 per cent of Bangladesh’s and 53 per cent of India’s with both Pakistan and Bangladesh carrying limited storage and procurement flexibility, making them especially vulnerable to fast-moving demand destruction in their power sectors.
India has been partially cushioned by its increased purchases of Russian crude over recent years, though the US had previously pressured New Delhi to reduce Russian imports, with Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar affirming at the Munich Security Conference that India pursues “strategic autonomy” and makes energy decisions in its own best interest.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
The sight of Vladimir Putin whose war in Ukraine triggered Europe’s original energy crisis now positioning Russia as a willing energy saviour is a masterclass in how geopolitical crises create unexpected leverage. Yet the deeper tragedy here is not one of strategy or statecraft: it is the quiet suffering of the millions of ordinary people across South Asia, Europe, and Africa who will pay more for fuel, food and electricity in the weeks ahead through no fault of their own. India, caught between its ties with Russia, its dependence on Gulf energy, and its aspirations for strategic autonomy, finds itself at a particularly sharp crossroads.
The world’s addiction to fossil fuels and to the volatile regions that supply them has once again revealed itself as a profound vulnerability, not just for individual nations, but for the entire architecture of global stability. True energy security cannot be outsourced to any single supplier, route, or relationship; it must be built from within, through genuine investment in clean energy, regional cooperation, and a foreign policy that prioritises peace over provocation.
Also Read: Iran-Israel War Forces Meta To Close Its Tel Aviv R&D Hub, Over 900 Workers Affected
🇷🇺🇪🇺 Putin smells blood in the energy market
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 10, 2026
As Brent crude blew past $100 and briefly touched $119 a barrel, Vladimir Putin went on Russian television and offered Europe exactly what it spent four years trying to quit: Russian oil and gas.
"If European companies decide to… https://t.co/TBNy2444m8 pic.twitter.com/EmCGriiTpA
