Myanmar’s military government has announced that they are bought Russian fuel oil that will arrive in phases from September, according the Reuters and Bloomberg.
We aim to buy high-quality fuel oil at a cheap price from the country where we can get it quickly
Russia has been hit with sweeping sanctions from the West since it invaded Ukraine in February. Europe — Russia’s largest customer — has been starting to buy less from the country. To mitigate the impact from lower energy sales to Europe, President Vladimir Putin has been hawking Russia’s energy exports to other markets, including Asia. In April, Russia said it was ready to sell oil to “friendly countries” in “any price range.”
Myanmar southeast asian country has been ruled by the military since its civilian government was overthrown in a coup in February 2021. Since then, the junta has been hit by US and European Union sanctions. More than a year after the coup, civil protests continue to rock the country.
Russian fuel oil exports to Myanmar are expected to begin in September, Reuters reported, citing local media.
Russia and Myanmar have been forging closer ties. Earlier this month, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov was in Myanmar on an official visit. Russia is also a major arms supplier to Myanmar.
