Britain has become the first Western nation to support the US in gradually lifting Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Oil terminals in London. Photo: Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
The scale of the relaxations is relatively modest due to the comparatively small volume of the British economy, but the decision by Keir Starmer's government has political significance, writes the BBC.
The US eased sanctions against the Kremlin immediately after Iran, in response to the attack, closed the Strait of Hormuz, depriving the world of 13% of oil and 17% of gas. To curb rising global prices, the Donald Trump administration allowed third countries — primarily India and China — to buy Russian oil.
On Monday, the White House extended the "temporary" relaxations for the third time, and that same evening, the closest US ally — Great Britain — joined the campaign.
British authorities allowed the import of diesel fuel and aviation kerosene produced from Russian oil in third countries, and also lifted restrictions on providing services to two Russian gas projects: "Sakhalin-2" and "Yamal LNG". British companies can now insure and credit supplies of liquefied natural gas from Russia to third countries, as well as transport it by sea.
The easing of American and British sanctions will temporarily mitigate the global energy crisis, as it will partially compensate for the fuel deficit, but Russia, China, and India will be the main beneficiaries.
Before the Iranian war, Russia was reducing the export of its main commodity and losing revenue due to American secondary sanctions against buyers of Russian oil. Their cancellation allowed the Kremlin to fund the war against Ukraine and patch up a hole in its budget.
India, in turn, was thus able to avoid a massive deficit of petroleum products, as the country has almost no raw material reserves and primarily purchases it from the Persian Gulf.
China has large reserves, but it also lost a key oil supplier due to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and Russian oil will come in handy as never before, as its purchasing schemes have long been established, and they can be quickly and smoothly restored after the lifting of American sanctions.
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