Because of the Iran war Oil has become a scarce commodity. The USA has therefore approved the purchase of Russian oil that is already on ships. In doing so, they are easing the sanctions that were imposed on Russia because of the war in Ukraine. At least until April 11th.

Russia is benefiting from the crisis. Prices have more than doubled compared to January or February of this year, said Janis Kluge in conversation with the “Tagesschau”. He is deputy head of the Eastern Europe and Eurasia research group at the Science and Politics Foundation.

“In numerical terms, this means that Russia has additional income of several hundred million per day,” said the researcher. So far it is only a snapshot. What matters is how long the crisis lasts.

“Looks like Russia is abandoning its allies”

Overall, the situation for Russia is more difficult than it seems at first glance. Because: “On the one hand, there is this additional income and of course also the symbolic success that sanctions are being relaxed,” explained Kluge in an interview with the “Tagesschau”.

“On the other hand, Russia is of course in a bit of a quandary because Iran has been an important ally in recent years. Iran has supplied Russia with weapons that it needed for its war in Ukraine.”

Moscow and Tehran traditionally maintain close relations with each other. Last year they even decided a new strategic partnership for 20 years. Iranian media reported at the time that the agreement included cooperation in areas such as military, politics, trade and research.

“Now Russia can’t really stand by Iran,” said Kluge. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin has so far expressed himself extremely cautiously and has not expressed any open criticism of the Americans. “And of course that looks like Russia is abandoning its allies, its partners, when it comes to it.”

Moscow was confident and satisfied

To the outside world, Moscow presents itself as self-confident. “The US is effectively recognizing the obvious: without Russian oil, the global energy market cannot remain stable,” wrote Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriyev on Telegram, after the temporary easing of US sanctions.

Dmitriev, who was in the US just this week for economic talks, spoke of around 100 million barrels of Russian oil, that is in transit.

Against the background of the worsening energy crisis, further easing of restrictions on Russian energy sources seems increasingly inevitable, he wrote. 100 million barrels of oil is roughly equivalent to the world’s consumption in one day.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov viewed the developments as an attempt to stabilize the energy markets. The interests of the USA and Russia coincide, he said, according to Russian news agencies. But it is also clear that for Moscow, income from the energy business is important for its war chest.