Washington, United States – (Web Desk) The United States has temporarily eased sanctions on Russian energy exports, allowing stranded Russian crude oil shipments to be sold to India in a short-term move aimed at stabilizing the global oil market.
According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a special license authorizing the delivery and sale of Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products already loaded on vessels as of March 5, 2026 to India.
The authorization allows these transactions—including cargoes carried by vessels previously affected by sanctions—to proceed until April 3, 2026.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the temporary waiver was introduced to ensure continued supply to the global energy market.
“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,” Bessent said in a post on X.
He added that the move was intended to reduce pressure on global energy supplies, particularly amid disruptions linked to tensions involving Iran.
The decision comes after Donald Trump last year imposed sanctions on major Russian oil companies, including Lukoil and Rosneft, as part of broader measures responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Those sanctions forced many global buyers to search for alternative energy sources, disrupting established oil trade flows.
Meanwhile, Russia has reportedly relied on a fleet of aging tankers with opaque ownership structures to transport crude oil and bypass restrictions imposed by the European Union, G7, and the United States following Moscow’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Energy analysts say the temporary waiver reflects concerns that tightening supply chains and geopolitical tensions could further destabilize global oil prices.
