Oil prices declined on Tuesday after earlier gains as traders weighed the prospect that U.S.–brokered talks to end the war in Ukraine could lead to a relaxation of sanctions on Russian crude. Brent futures slipped 0.72% to $66.12 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate fell 0.63% to $63.02, with analysts citing reduced geopolitical risk following President Donald Trump’s overtures to Moscow and Kyiv. Trump met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Washington on Monday and said arrangements were under way for a separate meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The White House signalled it would offer security guarantees to Ukraine, and market participants interpreted the diplomacy as lowering the likelihood of tighter restrictions on Russian oil exports in the near term. At the same time, Washington has intensified pressure on India. An additional 25% tariff on Indian imports—bringing total U.S. duties to 50%—targets New Delhi’s continued purchases of discounted Russian crude. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro labelled the Indian buying “corrosive” to efforts to curb Moscow’s war financing. Indian refiners are already curbing exposure. Ship-tracking data show Russian crude arrivals fell 24.5% in July to 1.5 million barrels a day. Imports of the flagship Urals grade have halved to about 400,000 barrels a day so far in August, and scheduled September deliveries are projected to drop another 45% as state processors shift toward Middle-Eastern and U.S. supply. Surplus barrels are being absorbed by Chinese refiners. China’s Urals purchases have climbed to roughly 75,000 barrels a day this month—almost twice the 2025 average—with at least two million-barrel tankers waiting off Zhoushan. Analysts caution that Beijing cannot absorb all volumes displaced from India, but its opportunistic buying is helping keep world prices in check for now. With negotiations still fluid and trade flows rapidly adjusting, market strategists expect continued volatility. A concrete cease-fire or, conversely, a breakdown in talks and wider secondary sanctions could quickly reverse the current downward pressure on crude.