Washington: The United States has announced an extension of waivers on sanctions, permitting several countries to continue purchasing Russian crude oil and petroleum products stranded on ships at sea for an additional month. This decision comes shortly after the U.S. government initially declared no intentions to prolong the sanctions waiver.

According to Thai News Agency, the U.S. Treasury Department issued a license late Friday, allowing countries to acquire Russian oil loaded onto ships from that day until May 16. This waiver is part of the U.S. government's strategy to mitigate rising global energy prices that have surged amid the U.S.-Israeli-Iran conflict. It succeeds a previous 30-day exemption that expired on April 11, although it excludes transactions linked to Iran, Cuba, and North Korea.

Earlier this week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bescent had announced that the government would not renew exemptions for Russian oil, particularly the exemption for Iranian oil set to expire on Sunday. Bescent noted last month that the exemption for Iran, granted by the Treasury Department on March 20, facilitated the entry of approximately 140 million barrels of oil into the global market, easing energy supply pressures during wartime.

Nonetheless, this decision has sparked criticism from U.S. Congress members across party lines, who argue that easing sanctions aids Iran's economy while it is in conflict with the United States and also supports Russia's economy, which is currently at war with Ukraine.

Brett Erickson, a sanctions expert at Obsidian Risk Advisors, remarked that this renewal might not be the final instance of U.S. government sanctions, as the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict continues to disrupt global energy markets, and the available measures to stabilize these markets are reaching their limits.

In the meantime, Kirill Dmitryev, the Russian president's representative, indicated that the initial round of exemptions allowed 100 million barrels of Russian crude oil to enter the market, nearly equivalent to a full day's global production.