US shifts stance on Russian oil imports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Friday that the United States has granted India permission to purchase Russian crude oil already in transit on ships, reversing previous restrictions. This decision aims to stabilize global oil supplies amid ongoing Middle East tensions. India had complied with US requests to halt sanctioned Russian oil purchases last fall but faced supply gaps. The Treasury Department now allows India to accept these shipments as a temporary measure to ease worldwide energy markets. Officials indicated hundreds of millions of barrels of sanctioned crude remain on vessels globally. The administration plans additional measures to relieve market pressure during the conflict while potentially unsanctioning additional Russian oil supplies in coming weeks.