Democrats in the United States Senate appealed to the Donald Trump administration to restore sanctions on Russian oil, which were lifted due to price increases caused by the war with Iran.
“Continuing to suspend these sanctions is a mistake that President Trump must correct immediately,” the senators said in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian oil in March.
“Moreover, instead of making it easier for Russia to gain additional profits, he must use all the instruments at his disposal to limit its extraordinary war revenues,” the letter's signatories wrote.
They also explained that “the president's global energy crisis has, as expected, raised average prices for a gallon of gasoline by 85 cents and driven up the price of Russian oil, which threatens to feed Putin's war machine (…). Putin has openly talked about taking advantage of the crisis.” [energetycznego] to rebuild export markets for Russian oil.
The portal has not yet obtained information about the Treasury Department's response to the senators' letter.
This is how the US administration explained the decision on sanctions
Bessent announced in March that suspending sanctions was a “short-term measure” that “will not bring significant financial benefits to the Russian government.” He also assured that “the temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that in the long run will bring enormous benefits” to the United States and its economy.
Democrats had already criticized the administration's decision on this matter, and their opinion was shared by the EU Commissioner for the Economy, Valdis Dombrovskis.
