WASHINGTON: The US government on Thursday temporarily eased economic sanctions against Russia to allow Russian oil currently stranded at sea to be sold to India. The Treasury Department&#39;s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a Russia-related license &quot;Authorizing the Delivery and Sale of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products of Russian Federation Origin Loaded on Vessels as of March 5, 2026, to India,&quot; the Treasury said in a statement. It said the transactions, including those from vessels blocked by various sanctions regimes, are authorized through the end of the day on April 3, 2026. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the waiver was issued &quot;To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market.&quot; &quot;This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government as it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea,&quot; he posted on X. The sale to India will &quot;alleviate pressure caused by Iran&#39;s attempt to take global energy hostage,&quot; he added, even though India has said it will stop purchasing Russian oil as part of a trade deal with the United States. In a rare effort to pressure Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft last November. Those moves &mdash; the most powerful by Trump against Russia over the Ukraine war &mdash; saw major buyers of Russian oil scramble to find alternative suppliers. Russia has reportedly built up a flotilla of old oil tankers of opaque ownership to get around sanctions imposed by Washington, the European Union and the G7 group of nations, over Moscow&#39;s 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Americas

Asia

Russia has reportedly built up a flotilla of old oil tankers of opaque ownership to get around sanctions imposed by Washington, the European Union and the G7 group of nations, over Moscow's 2022 all-out invasion of Ukraine.

US approves temporary sale of stranded Russian oil to India

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said Tuesday it had not received any indication from India that it would stop buying Russian oil following the announcement of a trade deal with US President Donald Trump.&nbsp;Trump said he had struck a deal to reduce tariffs on India and that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised to stop buying Russian oil over the war in Ukraine.&nbsp;India&#39;s purchases of Russian oil -- discounted due to Western sanctions complicating logistics and cutting off markets -- have surged since Russia launched its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine in February 2022.&nbsp;Ukraine and its Western allies have been seeking to cut off the billions of dollars in revenue, a vital source of income for Russia&#39;s stretched economy and its military.&nbsp;&quot;So far, we haven&#39;t heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter,&quot; Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, including AFP.&nbsp;Trump said he was cutting levies on Indian goods to 18 percent. He had previously imposed 25 percent &quot;reciprocal&quot; tariffs on many products, plus an additional 25 percent for New Delhi&#39;s purchases of Moscow&#39;s oil.&nbsp;While Modi thanked Trump for the &quot;wonderful&quot; phone call and the easing of tariffs, he made no reference to Trump&#39;s assertion about halting oil purchases.&nbsp;In 2024, Russia supplied nearly 36 percent of India&#39;s total crude imports, around 1.8 million barrels of discounted oil per day.&nbsp;But after Trump hit New Delhi with tariffs, India&#39;s monthly oil imports from Russia plunged by 38 percent, local media reported, citing India&#39;s Ministry of Commerce and Industry&#39;s data.&nbsp;Russian President Vladimir Putin promised &quot;uninterrupted shipments&quot; of oil during a visit to New Delhi in late 2025.&nbsp;Bilateral trade between the two sides reached $68.7 billion in 2024-25 -- almost six times higher than the pre-pandemic levels -- dominated by Moscow&#39;s energy sales, with Indian exports to Russia accounting for under $5 billion.

This combination of pictures created on February 02, 2026 shows, L/R, US President Donald Trump in Palm Beach, Florida, February 1, 2026 and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on January 29, 2026. (AFP/File)

Europe

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says the country has not heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter.

Russia says India has not said it will halt oil purchases

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was keen to &ldquo;please&rdquo; him, while renewing his warning that Washington could further raise tariffs on India over its continued purchases of Russian oil if New Delhi does not &ldquo;help&rdquo; on the issue. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump directly linked the threat to the Russia-Ukraine war and India&rsquo;s energy ties with Moscow. &ldquo;We could raise tariffs on India if they don&rsquo;t help on the Russian oil issue,&rdquo; he said.<div class="fr-embed youtube-embed" style="line-height: 2;"><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9XVjd3R2T3g?si=PzmknTUIwdZe0AL8" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen="" style="width: 100%; height: auto; aspect-ratio: 16 / 9; max-width: 100%; display: block;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe>&nbsp;</div>Trump added that New Delhi was aware of his displeasure. &ldquo;They wanted to make me happy, basically. PM Modi&rsquo;s a very good man. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly,&rdquo; he said. The remarks reflect Washington&rsquo;s continued pressure on India over its oil imports from Russia, which Trump has repeatedly criticized. In August 2025, his administration doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50 percent, accusing New Delhi of indirectly strengthening Russia&rsquo;s war effort by buying discounted crude. India is already facing steep tariffs, despite defending its energy policy as necessary for domestic energy security. Trump has maintained a strong interest in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, positioning himself as a potential mediator while simultaneously using trade measures to push allies to align with US policy on Moscow. &#39;National shame&#39; Trump&rsquo;s remarks also drew criticism within India. Saurabh Bharadwaj, president of the Aam Aadmi Party&rsquo;s Delhi unit, described the comments as a &ldquo;national shame,&rdquo; saying they portrayed India as being arm-twisted by Washington.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-3" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 738px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-3&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2008024326550028340&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Flogin%2F&sessionId=eacb3058d9b61359491233de2392a1a634d079ca&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" data-tweet-id="2008024326550028340">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>In a post on social media, Bharadwaj said a video circulating online showed US officials &ldquo;mocking India&rdquo; and bragging about how Trump pressured Prime Minister Narendra Modi to cut oil imports from Russia.&nbsp;He said Trump&rsquo;s claim that Modi wanted to &ldquo;make him happy&rdquo; damaged India&rsquo;s image and raised serious questions about New Delhi&rsquo;s foreign policy independence. Earlier, Trump said that Modi had assured him India would stop buying Russian oil, describing it as a &ldquo;big step&rdquo; to increase pressure on Moscow. Indian officials later claimed that assertion, saying no such assurance or conversation had taken place. Trump&rsquo;s latest comments come as Indian and US officials have launched <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-india-start-fresh-trade-talks-seeking-elusive-deal" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">another round of negotiations</a> aimed at easing long-standing trade tensions, which have been exacerbated by the sharp rise in tariffs and Washington&rsquo;s demands over New Delhi&rsquo;s Russia policy.

India

Says Modi knew it was "very important to make me happy."

Modi wants to please me: Trump

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump handed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban a one-year exemption from sanctions for buying Russian oil and gas after the close right-wing allies held a chummy White House meeting on Friday.&nbsp;Trump slapped sanctions on Moscow&#39;s two largest oil companies in October after losing patience with Russian President Vladimir Putin over his refusal to end the nearly four-year-old invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;But while Trump has pushed other European countries to stop buying oil that he says funds Moscow&#39;s war machine, Orban used his first trip to the White House since Trump&#39;s return to power to push for special treatment.&nbsp;As they heaped praise on each other, Trump said he was considering an exemption because landlocked Hungary had to rely on pipelines that made it dependent on Russian oil and gas.&nbsp;&quot;As you know they don&#39;t have the advantage of having sea,&quot; Trump told reporters.&nbsp;Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said after the meeting that Washington had granted a &quot;full and unlimited exemption from sanctions on oil and gas.&quot;&nbsp;But a White House official told AFP that Hungary&#39;s exemption was only for one year.&nbsp;Hungary had meanwhile committed to purchasing US liquified natural gas worth around $600 million, the official said.&nbsp;MiracleThe Hungarian prime minister has maintained close ties with both Moscow and Washington, while often bucking the rest of the EU on pressuring Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.&nbsp;Orban offered to host a summit in Budapest between Trump and Putin, although the US leader called it off in October and hit Moscow with sanctions for the first time in his presidency.&nbsp;At the White House, Orban pressed his case that Russian energy was vital for Hungary. &quot;Pipeline is not an ideological or political issue. It&#39;s a physical reality because we don&#39;t have port(s),&quot; Orban said.&nbsp;Washington has given firms who work with Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil one month to cut ties or face secondary sanctions, which would deny them access to US banks, traders, shippers and insurers.&nbsp;Orban also said it would take a &quot;miracle&quot; for Ukraine to beat Moscow, underscoring the gulf between him and other European leaders on the war.&nbsp;Respect HungaryTrump meanwhile wholeheartedly backed Orban on the touchstone issue of migration, saying that the Hungarian&#39;s European Union counterparts should show him more respect.&nbsp;Orban has long thumbed his nose at the EU over migration. He has also refused to send military aid to Ukraine and opposes Kyiv&#39;s EU bid, and has had frequent run-ins with Brussels on the rule of law and other issues.&nbsp;&quot;I think they should respect Hungary and respect this leader very, very strongly because he&#39;s been right on immigration,&quot; Trump told reporters.&nbsp;Trump, who has carried out a sweeping crackdown on immigration at home, again alleged a link between migrants and crime, which is not backed up by statistics in the United States.&nbsp;Orban visited his &quot;dear friend&quot; Trump at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida three times last year, but the US president&#39;s return to power has had a mixed effect on Hungary.&nbsp;Washington has withdrawn sanctions against top Orban aide Antal Rogan and restored the country&#39;s status in a visa waiver scheme.&nbsp;But Trump&#39;s tariffs against the European Union have hit Hungary&#39;s export-oriented car industry hard, contributing to an already weak economy.&nbsp;Experts said the meeting with the US president was expected to give at least a &quot;symbolic&quot; win to Orban, who faces an unprecedented challenge to his 15-year rule ahead of elections next spring amid economic stagnation.

US president says he is considering an exemption because landlocked Hungary has to rely on pipelines that make it dependent on Russian oil and gas.

Trump gives Hungary's Orban one-year Russia oil sanctions reprieve

ISLAMABAD: Under mounting pressure from Washington, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly agreed to further reduce Russian oil imports following what US President Donald Trump described as a &ldquo;very good&rdquo; conversation between the two leaders.&nbsp;Speaking at the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Trump said he had spoken with Modi about the regional situation and the war in Ukraine, claiming that India is sharply reducing its oil imports from Russia and intends to continue doing so.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1980742051600953557&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=cb91aadad6b39265589051e7fd402cd173d5ebd1&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 648px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>According to Trump, Modi assured him that India would further cut its purchases of Russian oil, adding that both leaders shared a desire to see the Russia-Ukraine conflict end soon. &ldquo;India has already reduced its oil purchases and is continuing to cut it back,&rdquo; Trump said. Trump&rsquo;s remarks came days after he made similar claims that were dismissed by New Delhi. In response, India&rsquo;s Ministry of External Affairs said it was &ldquo;not aware of any recent conversation&rdquo; between the two leaders, stressing that the country&rsquo;s energy imports are guided by &ldquo;the interests of the Indian consumer and the stability of supply and prices.&rdquo; He stated that Modi assured him India would further cut oil imports from Russia, emphasizing that both leaders share a desire to see the Russia-Ukraine war reach an end soon. Trump noted that India had already reduced its oil purchases and was &ldquo;continuing to cut it back.&rdquo; Modi confirmed the conversation in a post on X, signaling a shift in New Delhi&rsquo;s stance amid growing US pressure.<iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1980826742379184347&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=cb91aadad6b39265589051e7fd402cd173d5ebd1&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 393px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe><div class="fr-embed"> </div>The US president has in recent weeks also criticized India for continuing to purchase Russian oil, and his administration has imposed tariffs on Indian exports to pressure New Delhi to support efforts for peace in Ukraine. Earlier this week, Trump reiterated that India would continue to face &ldquo;massive tariffs&rdquo; if it did not halt its imports of Russian oil.

Says India is sharply reducing its oil imports from Russia and intends to continue doing so.

Articles tagged with "Russian oil purchase"

US approves temporary sale of stranded Russian oil to India

Russia says India has not said it will halt oil purchases

Modi wants to please me: Trump

Trump gives Hungary's Orban one-year Russia oil sanctions reprieve

Modi yields to Trump’s pressure, agrees to cut Russian oil imports