U.S. temporarily allows India to sell Russian oil

लगानी न्यूज

२२ फाल्गुन २०८२, शुक्रबार १३:१९March 6, 2026

. The United States has given temporary permission to sell Russian oil to India in a bid to ease the disruption of global energy markets amid economic sanctions imposed on Russia. The U.S. government announced the decision on Thursday, saying it had granted a partial waiver of the ban for a limited time.

The Foreign Assets Control Office (OFAC) under the US Treasury Department (OFAC) has issued a special permit to allow the transportation and sale of crude oil and petroleum products of the Russian Federation to India until March 5, 2026.TAG_OPEN_div_27 According to the ministry, such oil-related transactions will be valid till the end of April 3, 2026.

Finance Minister Scott Besant said the temporary waiver was aimed at retaining global oil supplies.TAG_OPEN_div_25 He said the decision was unlikely to bring significant economic benefits to the Russian government, as the permission would only apply to a limited number of oil-related transactions that are already stranded at sea.

Writing on X, Besant said the temporary measure would ease some of the pressure on energy markets.TAG_OPEN_div_23 He said the sale to India would help defuse tensions created by Iran’s attempts to pressure global energy supplies.

India has pledged to gradually stop buying Russian oil as part of its trade deal with the US, but the temporary permission has been given for the management of oil stuck at sea.TAG_OPEN_div_21

In November, U.S. President Donald Trump announced tougher sanctions on Russian oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft.TAG_OPEN_div_19 The sanctions were seen as the toughest of the Trump administration’s actions against Russia in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

After the sanctions came into effect, major buyers of Russian oil stepped up efforts to find alternative suppliers.TAG_OPEN_div_17 As uncertainty in the energy market increases, many countries are looking for alternative supply routes and sources.

Meanwhile, Washington, the European Union (EU) and the G7 imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.TAG_OPEN_div_15 International analysts say Russia has deployed a large fleet of old oil tankers with opaque ownership to evade those sanctions.