The Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar have been discussing additional prospects for cooperation in their bilateral oil and gas, as well as the development of nuclear energy, at meetings held in Istanbul.

Millions of barrels of Russian oil stored on tankers at sea could still provide Indian refiners with a quick and cheap solution, provided they get the nod from New Delhi.

"Poland has the potential to become a European leader in small modular reactor (SMR) technology," said Polish Minister of Energy Miłosz Motyka.

NANO Nuclear and EHC will also explore the future potential for deploying KRONOS MMR reactors in select markets across the wider Gulf region.

Brent up 6 cents at $70.83, WTI rose 4 cents to $65.67.

Deliveries of Russian crude to Chinese ports rose to 2.09 million barrels a day in the first 18 days of February, vessel-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. The increase — from 1.72 million barrels a day in the whole of January and 1.39 million in December — has more than offset a drop from India.

Rosatom later reported that in meetings on Monday, Likhachev also held talks with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić "during which they discussed expanding cooperation in nuclear energy, attracting Serbian companies to Rosatom's international projects, and training Serbian applicants in nuclear fields at Russian universities".  

India's crude oil purchases underwent a transformative change in 2026, with significantly reduced volumes of Russian Urals and incremental growth in Middle East Gulf barrels comprising its portfolio as of January,

Hungary has announced that it will block adoption of the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia.

However, Hungary’s main nuclear power programme is rooted in Russian technology. Earlier in February, first concrete was poured for unit 1 of Hungary’s Paks II expansion project (also known a Paks unit 5).