The US has loosened sanctions preventing other countries buying Russian oil and petroleum already loaded on vessels at sea to try to ease the energy supply crunch sparked by the US-Israel war with Iran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the "short-term measure" was aimed at promoting "stability in global energy markets".

The United States did not extend a sanctions exemption that had allowed the sale of some Russian oil, stepping back from a contentious plan to try and contain global crude prices that was also providing an economic windfall to Moscow.

The U.S. is temporarily easing some sanctions on Russian oil shipments, reflecting global concerns over sharply higher crude prices due to supply shortages stemming from the Iran war.

By Siyi Liu and Chen Aizhu SINGAPORE, April 14 (Reuters) - Chinese state oil giant Sinopec has bought Russian oil loading in March and April to replace Middle Eastern crude after the U.S. temporarily waived sanctions to ease tight supplies globally,

The move was met Friday with dismay in Europe, where officials and experts feared it would aid the Russian war machine in Ukraine. The Kremlin pressed Washington to go further.

The United States had earlier imposed strict sanctions on Russia’s oil exports due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. These sanctions were designed to reduce Russia’s earnings and limit its economic strength.

A group of Democratic senators in the US Congress has urged the administration of US President Donald Trump not to extend the sanctions waiver for Russian oil loaded onto tankers, which is set to

“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage,” Bessent said in a social media post.

Ukraine and its European allies hit out on Friday at a U.S. temporary waiver to ​allow countries to buy sanctioned Russian oil and petroleum products stranded at sea, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warning it would fund Moscow's war machine.

The Donald Trump administration has issued a temporary authorization for countries to purchase Russian oil currently “stranded at sea,” a move designed to stabilize global energy markets as tensions from the Iran-U.

India’s Russian oil imports surge to €5.3 billion in March as volumes double amid sanctions relief and rising global crude prices.