Editorial Note:

Europe has sharply reduced its direct dependence on Russian energy, but Russian fuel never fully disappeared from the market. In many cases, it simply took a longer route through countries such as India and Turkey, where Russian crude could be refined, blended or re-exported before eventually reaching European buyers.

That is the point behind Robert Fico’s criticism. If Russian diesel can now enter global markets through a U.S. sanctions waiver, Europe could theoretically end up buying fuel ultimately derived from Russia through another intermediary, with transport, refining and trading margins added along the way.

Sanctions have therefore changed the map of the energy trade far more quickly than they have eliminated Russian molecules from it. Europe may buy less directly from Moscow, but a barrel does not develop a new nationality because it changed planes in Istanbul.

Russian oil: “I am Indian now.”
Europe: “Welcome, friend. Here’s €90 a barrel.”
The U.S.: *quietly stamps the waiver* “Don’t make eye contact.”