US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday defended the Trump administration’s recent about-face to temporarily extend a sanctions waiver that allowed the sale of Russian oil already at sea.
The month-long relief announced last Friday was meant to cool soaring energy prices. But it came just two days after Bessent told reporters that Washington would not renew the waiver.
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The latest move allowed for purchases of oil and petroleum products that had been loaded onto vessels as of Friday, through to May 16.
It prolongs an earlier easing of sanctions that expired on April 11.
President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned sanctions relief on Russian oil over the weekend, saying that this provides money for Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Asked about the US administration’s change of tack during a hearing, Bessent said Wednesday that the shift came after he was “approached by more than 10 of the most vulnerable and poorest countries in terms of energy.”
This happened on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank’s spring meetings, which brought finance ministers, central bankers and other leaders to Washington.
“They asked us to extend that sanction (relief), and it’s only for 30 days,” Bessent told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
He rejected criticism that temporary waivers on purchases of Russian and Iranian oil served to enrich Tehran, saying the aim was to lower energy costs.
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