The United States has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil, providing a boost to the Kremlin as Washington attempts to control the soaring energy prices triggered by the war in Iran.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin welcomed the decision to ease penalties imposed on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. They urged the U.S. to take further action. However, this move caused concern in Europe, where officials feared it would provide a timely boost to Russia’s war efforts as attention shifts to the Middle East.
The international benchmark of Brent crude rose again overnight, sitting just above $100 a barrel as of 6 a.m. ET. Markets worldwide slipped, with U.S. stock futures down following slumps across Asia and Europe.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that until April 11, countries would be able to buy Russian oil that was already at sea. He called it a “narrowly tailored, short-term measure” and claimed it would “not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”
The Strait of Hormuz blockade is preventing around 10 million barrels from entering the international market every day.
Bessent said that President Donald Trump was “taking decisive steps to promote stability in global energy markets and working to keep prices low.”
“The United States is effectively acknowledging the obvious: Without Russian oil, the global energy market cannot remain stable,” Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev said in a statement.
He called for “further easing of restrictions on Russian energy resources,” a direction of travel he said was “increasingly inevitable, despite resistance from parts of the Brussels bureaucracy”.
On X early Friday, Dmitriev posted a waving Russian flag alongside the caption: “Buy Russian oil and gas to maintain a balanced energy supply.”
Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, told reporters that Russia recognized Washington’s “attempt to stabilize energy markets,” and “in this respect, our interests coincide.”
