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The 30-Day pivot: Why Washington just extended the deadline for buying Russian oil

The waivers could complicate the West's efforts to deprive Russia of revenue for ​its war in Ukraine and ⁠put Washington at odds with its allies.

2 min readApr 18, 2026 08:44 AM IST First published on: Apr 18, 2026 at 08:20 AM IST
the Russian oil imported into India in December has fallen to a three-year-low of around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 1.8 million bpd in November.The Russian oil imported into India in December has fallen to a three-year-low of around 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), down from 1.8 million bpd in November. (Credit: Unsplash)

US President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday issued a waiver allowing countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products at sea for about a month, seeking to control global energy prices that have shot higher during ⁠the ​US-Israeli war on Iran.

The US Treasury Department allowed purchases of the oil loaded on vessels as of Friday through May 16, an extension of an original 30-day ​waiver ​that expired on April 11, ⁠according to a document posted to the department’s website.

The extension comes two days after ‌Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will not be renewing the waiver that allowed countries to purchase Russian oil without facing US sanctions.

Russia’s presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev had said the first waiver would free 100 million barrels of Russian crude, equal to ⁠almost a ⁠day’s worth of global output.

Though the reprieve on sanctions could temporarily boost world supplies of oil, it has not prevented petroleum prices from spiking due to the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and gas was shipped daily before the war, Reuters reported.

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The waivers could complicate Western efforts to deprive Russia of revenue for its war in Ukraine and put Washington at odds with its allies, according to Reuters.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, for instance, has said it is not the time to relax sanctions against Russia, Reuters noted.

(With inputs from Reuters)

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