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US extends sanctions waiver until June 17 on Russian oil loaded by April 17

The document emphasizes that the license does not authorize transactions related to a number of Russian regions, including Crimea, the Donetsk People's Republic, and the Lugansk People's Republic, as well as Iran, Cuba, and North Korea

© Vitaly Timkiv/TASS

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.

On March 12, the US Treasury Department lifted sanctions on transactions involving the sale of Russian oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels before that date. On March 19, it updated the license, adding provisions that prohibited transactions involving several regions of Russia, as well as North Korea and Cuba. That license expired on April 11. On April 17, the US Treasury Department issued another license allowing, until May 16, transactions for the sale, transportation, and unloading of Russian-origin oil and petroleum products loaded onto tankers prior to April 17.

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