Easing restrictions on Russian energy resources has become "inevitable" after the US lifted limitations on roughly 100 million barrels of Russian oil, Russia's presidential envoy for international economic cooperation said Friday.
Kirill Dmitriev, who also heads the Russian Direct Investment Fund, made the remarks in a statement posted on Telegram.
The US has recognized an "obvious reality," Dmitriev said, adding that the global energy market cannot remain stable without Russian oil.
He said Washington had allowed India to purchase Russian crude and announced the removal of restrictions on about 100 million barrels of Russian oil stranded at sea.
"Russian energy is indispensable to easing the world's largest energy crisis," he said. "EU bureaucrats will soon be forced to recognize this reality, acknowledge their strategic blunders, and atone."
The US on Thursday announced it has temporarily authorized the purchase of Russian oil stranded at sea to stabilize energy markets, according to media reports.
There are nearly 124 million barrels of Russia-origin oil at sea across 30 locations globally as of March 12, CNBC reported, enough crude oil to cover about five to six days of supply.
"The temporary increase in oil prices is a short-term and temporary disruption that will result in a massive benefit to our nation and economy in the long-term," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Reporting by Emre Gurkan Abay in Moscow
Writing by Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
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