US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said that after the US lifted sanctions on Russian oil and petroleum products that were blocked at sea for a month, Russia's real profits from the sale of these raw materials actually decreased.
He said this in an interview with NBC News on March 22.
In particular, when the journalist asked to explain why the official had previously supported the introduction of relevant sanctions, emphasizing that “Russian oil exports finance its military machine,” and now they were temporarily lifted, Bessent replied:
“Again, you're missing the point. Which is better? Does Russia get more money if the price of oil rises to $150 (ed.), and they get 70% of that amount, which is $105 (ed.). Or if the price of oil remains below $100 (ed.)? That is, they get less money. Our analysis shows that the maximum additional amount that Russia could get would be $2 billion, which is one day of the budget of the Russian Federation,” the US Treasury Secretary explained.
According to Bessent, despite the sanctions imposed, Russia would continue to receive money, since 90% of its oil is purchased by China, emphasizing that it was impossible to apply similar restrictions to China.
“We were able to significantly reduce their (Russian – ed.) exports. Their exports fell by about 25%, while the rest of the world is not buying it (oil – ed.). So exports were reduced, but there was a lifeline from China. Now we have opened it (oil – ed.) to the rest,” Bessent said.
As a reminder, on March 12, the United States issued a 30-day license to purchase Russian oil and petroleum products currently stranded at sea. The US Treasury Department believes that this will help stabilize global energy markets.
Trump previously announced that the United States would lift some oil-related sanctions to reduce energy prices that have risen amid the US-Israeli operation against Iran. He did not provide details or specify which countries he planned to lift restrictions from.
On March 6, the United States eased sanctions on oil from Russia for India for 30 days: this country's refineries will be able to buy Russian oil that is stuck on tankers at sea.