The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, has indicated that Washington is considering lifting sanctions on additional Russian oil supplies, following a temporary authorisation for India to purchase from Moscow. The move comes as global oil prices surge due to the ongoing US-Israel conflict with Iran and retaliatory attacks across the Gulf region, which have disrupted activity in the Strait of Hormuz.
Crude oil prices rose 8.5% on Friday and were up nearly 30% for the week after US President Donald Trump stated that only Iran's "unconditional surrender" would end the Middle East war. Bessent told Fox Business that "we may unsanction other Russian oil," noting that hundreds of millions of barrels of sanctioned crude are currently on the water, and that unsanctioning them could create supply.
Washington insists that the new measures are not aimed at easing restrictions on Moscow imposed over its conduct in Ukraine negotiations, but only affect supplies already in transit. Bessent said the Treasury would "keep a cadence of announcing measures to bring relief to the market during this conflict," with high oil prices a pain point domestically and internationally.
Kremlin economic adviser Kirill Dmitriev confirmed discussions with the United States, posting on X that "Western sanctions have proven detrimental to the world economy." On Thursday, the US temporarily eased sanctions to allow Russian oil stranded at sea to be sold to India, authorising transactions through 3 April 2026.
