MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. European countries themselves remain major buyers of Russian crude oil and petroleum products, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"The topic of 'European cynicism' – as noted by [US Treasury Secretary Scott] Bessent – is being widely discussed in the global media. The fact is that European countries, just like all other nations, are heavy buyers of Russian oil and Russian petroleum products," Peskov told TASS.

He made the statement when asked if the Kremlin sees a risk of Europe disrupting the Moscow-Washington fuel deal through new sanctions or other trade barriers.

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent pointed out that statements by European countries criticizing US agreements with Russia on diesel fuel supplies are utterly cynical. He noted that, since the start of the war, Europeans themselves have paid more money to the Russians than to the Ukrainians because they are unable to wean themselves off Russian energy resources.