Top US officials defended the temporary waiver of sanctions on India for purchasing Russian crude oil, stating it would help temper rising global oil prices and assuage concerns of supply crunch due to the current challenges in procuring shipments from the Gulf.
The US has urged New Delhi to buy Russian oil from tankers already idling at sea and redirect it to Indian refineries to “tamp down” fears of supply shortages amid the raging Iran war, Chris Wright, energy secretary, said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.
In another interview to CNN, also on Sunday, Wright said, “India has been a great partner through this. I did call up the Indians, as did Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and said there’s a whole bunch of oil floating waiting to unload at Chinese refineries. Instead of having it wait six weeks to unload there, let’s just pull that oil forward, have it land in Indian refineries and tamp this fear of shortage of oil, tamp the price spikes and the concerns we see in the marketplace.”
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz said on US media outlet NBC’s ‘Meet the Press’ that the 30-day pause on US sanctions will “allow the millions and millions of barrels of oil that are sitting out on ships to go to Indian refineries.”
Earlier, Bessent signalled a thaw in US policy towards India’s purchases of Russia oil to enable adequate crude in the market from various sources including Russia.
In his latest tweet on Sunday morning without naming Russia and other crude sources, Bessent said, “The United States is the biggest and most powerful economy in the world. Under @POTUS’ leadership we are working with the world’s largest producers, consumers, and refiners to maintain stability in the world’s energy markets while we eliminate threats to our safety and security. This is a shared purpose towards which we are all working, and we thank our international partners sharing this same goal.”
Last week, Bessent’s comments on allowing India to purchase Russian oil sparked a political storm in New Delhi.
On Friday, he said India is a “very good actor” on Russian oil sanctions, while signalling the US could ease restrictions on additional Russian crude to stabilise global energy markets. Speaking on Fox Business’ Kudlow programme, Bessent said the US allowed India to buy Russian oil stranded on the sea and is now considering further steps to unsanction more barrels.
“The Indians had been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did,” Bessent said, explaining that New Delhi had complied with earlier US requests before receiving the temporary waiver. Bessent said India had planned to replace Russian supplies with US oil, but Washington decided to allow purchases of Russian crude already on ships to avoid short-term disruptions in global supply.
The tone and tenor of Bessent’s message drew sharp criticism from the Opposition. Subsequently, an Indian official said India has never depended on permission from any country to buy Russian oil. The statement came in response to the 30-day window the US opened on Friday for Indian refiners to import floating Russian volumes.
“India is still importing Russian oil, even in February 2026, and Russia is still India’s largest crude oil supplier,” the official said. “Therefore, suggesting a short-term waiver ‘enables’ these purchases overlooks that the trade has continued consistently.”
The US statements on waiver “are for their domestic audience,” the official said,
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a Russia-related licence “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,” the Treasury said in a statement. It said the transactions, including from vessels blocked by various sanction regimes, are authorised through the end of the day on April 3, 2026.
