The United States has temporarily eased certain economic sanctions against Russia to allow Russian oil currently stranded at sea to be sold to India.
The waiver was issued by the US Department of the Treasury through its sanctions enforcement unit, the Office of Foreign Assets Control. According to the Treasury, the special licence authorises the delivery and sale of crude oil and petroleum products of Russian origin that had already been loaded onto vessels as of March 5, 2026.
The authorisation allows transactions, including those involving ships previously affected by sanctions, to continue until April 3, 2026.
Scott Bessent said the waiver was designed to prevent disruptions in the global energy market. “To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market,” he wrote in a post on X.
He added that the measure was deliberately short-term and would not provide major financial benefits to Moscow because it only applies to oil that is already stranded at sea. “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. He also suggested the move could help stabilise global energy supply following tensions involving Iran.
The decision comes months after Donald Trump imposed sanctions on major Russian oil companies including Lukoil and Rosneft in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Those sanctions forced many international buyers of Russian crude to look for alternative suppliers.
Russia has reportedly attempted to bypass sanctions imposed by the United States, the European Union and the Group of Seven by using a fleet of ageing oil tankers with opaque ownership structures to transport its crude oil.
