The United States has temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil, a boost for the Kremlin as Washington tries to contain rising oil prices amid an escalation of the American-Israeli offensive in Iran.
President Vladimir Putin’s team has welcomed a move to ease sanctions imposed over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and pressed Friday for the US to go further..
The decision caused dismay in Europe, where officials fear it will give a boost to Moscow’s war machine at their doorstep as attention shifts from Ukraine to the Middle East.
The announcement failed to immediately ease oil prices, which have soared since Tehran successfully blocked the oil-deficient Strait of Hormuz and began attacking energy facilities in neighboring Gulf countries.
International benchmark Brent crude rebounded overnight, sitting just above $100 a barrel as of 6 a.m. ET. Markets around the world fell, with US stock futures falling following declines in Asia and Europe.
Announcing this move on Thursday evening, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that until April 11 countries will be able to buy Russian oil that is already at sea.
He called it a “slightly prepared, temporary measure” and said “it will not provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government.” (However, he later told NBC News’ British partner Sky News that it was “inevitable” and “unfortunate” when asked if Moscow would benefit from the decision.)
Today, there are approximately 124 million barrels of Russian oil carried on ships around the world. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz prevents about 10 million barrels from entering the international market every day.
President Donald Trump, Bessent added in his statement, “is taking serious steps to promote stability in global energy markets and is working to keep prices low.”
He was also heard in Trump’s remarks on Truth Social earlier Thursday. The short-term disruption “will lead to significant benefits for the nation and our economy in the long term,” Bessent said.
The Kremlin was looking to escalate quickly. Despite Europe’s efforts to neutralize Russia, oil and gas remain key to the Kremlin, and China and India remain important buyers.
“The United States clearly sees 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 “re-expanding the borders of Russia’s energy resources,” a direction of travel that he said was “increasingly inevitable, despite the resistance of parts of the Brussels regime” – referring to the European Union.
On X early Friday, Dmitriev posted a waving Russian flag alongside the caption: “Buy Russian oil and gas to maintain limited energy supply.” Dmitriev was at the American meeting with Trump’s team earlier in the week.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, meanwhile, told reporters that Russia recognizes Washington’s attempt to “freeze energy markets,” and “in this case, our interests are aligned.”
This Russian positivity was not shared throughout Europe.
The British government was among those who said on Friday it would maintain its own sanctions against Russian oil, while fearing the consequences of Trump’s decision.
During a visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday, the United Kingdom’s top official, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, accused Tehran and Moscow of supporting each other and “trying to hijack the world economy.”
The leaders of Germany and Norway, who appeared at a joint press conference, voiced their opposition.
Friday’s fallout showed the difficulties involved when the US weighs two wars, each involving major energy producers.
The Strait of Hormuz is a 24-kilometer waterway that separates Iran from the Gulf states, and one-fifth of the world’s oil passes through it each year. Most ships refuse to go through it now, both because it’s too dangerous (Iran has attacked several ships in the past few days) and because insurance costs have dropped.
The lifting of sanctions against Russia is not the only dramatic step countries have taken to prevent the risk of a global economic shock. The International Energy Agency, a group of major producers, agreed this week to release a historic 400 million barrels of oil. This also failed to reduce prices.
