The US Treasury has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil already at sea in a bid to ease crude prices surging amid the Iran war. The exemptions, issued on Thursday evening, are set to remain in place until April 11.
The move is expected to add hundreds of millions of barrels of crude to global markets, helping to cool prices that have hovered near $100 a barrel as a result of the conflict.
In a shift that will cause considerable alarm to Nato allies and extreme concern to Ukraine's President Zelensky who will be wary of Russian oil profits being used to finance Putin's war machine, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged that Moscow could benefit financially from the decision.
"To increase the global reach of existing supply, Treasury is providing a temporary authorisation to permit countries to purchase Russian oil currently stranded at sea," Mr Bessent wrote on social media.
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