WASHINGTON, May 18. /TASS/. The US Treasury Department has waived sanctions until June 17 on transactions involving the sale and transportation of crude oil and petroleum products from Russia loaded onto tankers by April 17. The corresponding general license has been published on the website of the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
The license covers transactions involving the "sale, delivery, or unloading of crude oil or petroleum products originating in the Russian Federation, loaded onto any vessel, including vessels blocked by the aforementioned acts (included in the US Treasury sanctions lists - TASS), until 12:01 a.m. ET on April 17, 2026 (4:01 a.m. GMT - TASS)." Such operations are permitted "until 12:01 a.m. ET on June 17, 2026 (4:01 a.m. GMT)."
The document emphasizes that the license does not authorize transactions related to a number of Russian regions, including Crimea, the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), and the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), as well as Iran, Cuba, and North Korea. It states that the new general license fully supersedes a similar license issued by the US Treasury on April 17, which expired on May 16.
Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the US administration waived sanctions on shipments of Russian oil already loaded onto vessels for 30 days to ensure "the most vulnerable nations" have access to energy. He added that this move is aimed at stabilizing the global oil market.
