The two top global energy producers have devised ways to circumvent the US-led economic measures and divert most of their crude to China, the world’s top consumer. US-led sanctions on Iran and Russia aimed to leave little breathing space for the two energy-rich countries and cripple their economies to force them into a position of weakness. A host of nations dependent on energy imports have been cut off from two of the major energy producers, causing disruptions in the global energy markets.
“China is the big winner. It gets cheap energy and commodities from Russia,” says Timothy Ash, associate fellow in the Russia and Eurasia programme at Chatham House. “Russia is now the junior partner in the partnership without limits. It is clear the dominant power is China,” he tells. This begs the question as to how the two countries—Iran and Russia—are bypassing the Western sanctions to sell their energy to the world’s largest importer of crude oil