The US government on Thursday temporarily eased economic sanctions against Russia to allow Russian oil stranded at sea to be sold to India. The US Treasury Department said in a statement, AFP news agency reports.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC, has issued a permit for "the delivery and sale to India of crude oil and petroleum products originating in the Russian Federation loaded on ships as of March 5, 2026".
The sale - including from ships affected by various sanctions regimes - is permitted until the end of April 3, it said. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the waiver is being granted to ensure that oil can continue to flow into the global market.
- This deliberately short-term measure will not provide the Russian government with any significant economic gain, as it only allows trade in oil that is already stranded at sea, he writes in a post on the social media X.
According to him, the sale to India will also "limit the pressure caused by Iran's attempt to take global energy hostage". The announcement from the Treasury comes amid growing concerns about energy supplies.
At the same time, US President Donald Trump's administration is trying to limit the economic consequences of the attacks in the Middle East, writes the American media outlet CNN.
In an attempt to put pressure on Russia in connection with its invasion of Ukraine, Trump imposed sanctions on the Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft in November. This has prompted buyers of Russian oil to look for alternative suppliers.
India is a major buyer of Russian oil, and the United States has therefore put special pressure on India to try to limit the flow of money that helps finance the invasion, writes the BBC.
/ritzau/
Text, graphics, images, sound, and other content on this website are protected under copyright law. DK Medier reserves all rights to the content, including the right to exploit the content for the purpose of text and data mining, cf. Section 11b of the Copyright Act and Article 4 of the DSM Directive.
Customers with IP agreements/major customer agreements may only share Danish Offshore Industry articles internally for the purpose of handling specific cases. Sharing in connection with specific cases refers to journaling, archiving, or similar uses.
Customers with a personal subscription/login may not share Danish Offshore Industry articles with individuals who do not themselves have a personal subscription to Danish Offshore Industry.
Any deviation from the above requires written consent from DK Medier.
