The United States is temporarily allowing the sale of Russian oil that is at sea, the Treasury Department says according to AFP.

Yesterday, the Treasury issued a license authorising the delivery and sale of Russian crude oil and petroleum products that have been loaded on vessels on or before 12:01 am Eastern Time March 12, through 12:01 am on April 11.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that the latest authorisation aimed to “increase the global reach of existing supply”. But he insisted this was a “narrowly tailored, short-term measure.”

He added it would not provide “significant financial benefit to the Russian government, which derives the majority of its energy revenue from taxes assessed at the point of extraction.”