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Russia is reportedly earning up to $150 million a day in additional oil revenues as a result of the Iran crisis...
The conflict in the Middle East is getting better and better for Vladimir Putin. That has brought a rise in oil prices, a chance to play the role of peacemaker and now the easing of US sanctions on Russian oil.
This latest development marks a stunning reversal of policy by the Trump administration and a major coup for the Kremlin.
Scott Bessent, the US Treasury Secretary, has downplayed the significance of any financial benefits for Moscow, stressing that the measures are "narrowly tailored" and "short-term".
But this seems like an unquestionable desire from Washington, and with many positive aspects.
According to the Financial Times, Russia has earned up to $150 million a day in additional oil revenues as a result of the crisis, as disruptions to global energy supplies led to increased demand from China and India.
The lifting of sanctions means there are now a large number of additional customers to whom it can potentially sell, and business has already begun, with Thailand announcing this morning that it is ready to buy Russian oil.
Oil was the area where the Trump administration had sought to put pressure on the Kremlin, to damage its economy in an attempt to convince it to negotiate over Ukraine.
To some extent it was working. Declining sales in India (as a result of US sanctions), combined with a drop in prices, has led to a growing budget deficit, depriving the Kremlin of a vital source of revenue.
Russia's defense spending had not yet been affected, but this was making Moscow's calculations difficult. So this represents a remarkable turnaround, not only economically, but also diplomatically.
Symbolically, this brings Russian oil back from the “freeze” and creates further divisions in the transatlantic alliance.
Europe is categorically against any easing of sanctions on Russia, with Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressing their opposition to this in recent days. Such friction only plays into Moscow's hands.
Even domestically, this helps the Kremlin reinforce its message to the public that it was right all along, that the world needs Russia.
"The US is effectively admitting the obvious: without Russian oil, the global energy market cannot remain stable," Kremlin investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev wrote on Telegram.
"Amid the growing energy crisis, further easing of restrictions on Russian energy sources seems increasingly inevitable, despite resistance from some in the Brussels bureaucracy," he added.
Moscow clearly hopes this means the sanctions genie is out of the bottle. Depending on the direction of oil prices, it may be right. /Adapted from SkyNews /
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