NEW YORK, March 8. /TASS/. The US administration is not going to abandon its sanctions policy toward Russia, despite the temporary easing of restrictions on India's purchase of Russian oil, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said.

"The United States’ policy towards Russia has not changed at all," he told CNN, commenting on Washington’s decision to permit India to buy Russian oil for a month. "It's just a pragmatic effort that has a short time span."

According to Wright, this step was geared to "tamp this fear of shortage of oil, tamp the price breaks and the concerns we see in the marketplace."

As reported earlier, the US Treasury Department issued a license allowing India to purchase Russian oil already loaded on tankers at sea within a 30-day period. The license also covers transactions involving petroleum products and supplies of crude that had been loaded onto any vessels through March 5. According to statements by US officials, the decision was made to ease pressure on the global oil market amid the US and Israeli military operation against Iran.