For much of last year, Washington sought to starve Moscow’s war machine of cash, in part by removing one of its most loyal customers: India.
Under President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign, the White House slapped high tariffs on many of New Delhi’s exports and sanctioned two of the Kremlin’s largest oil firms.
The strategy appeared to be working. While India didn’t quit its Russian oil habit entirely, it sharply reduced its purchases in favor of supplies from the Middle East.
But last week’s joint US-Israeli offensive against Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which almost all Middle Eastern oil flows. Iran has also threatened to attack energy infrastructure in neighboring countries in retaliation for airstrikes that hit major energy storage sites in Tehran.
On Sunday, oil prices surpassed $100-a-barrel for the first time since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, boosted by fears of further production disruptions and restrictions.
Left with few other options, India is now turning back to Russian oil.
In an acknowledgement of New Delhi’s predicament, the US last week granted Indian refiners a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil currently stranded at sea. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move was “to enable oil to keep flowing into the global market.”
After months of White House pressure to stop buying Russian oil, it is now being given a pass to do exactly that, the proceeds continuing to bolster the very war chest Washington spent a year trying to deplete.
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