US President Donald Trump’s administration has 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 war, Reuters reports.
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.
