Sanctions are introduced and lifted slowly and with difficulty, – Mikhail Sheitelman on Russian oil

This is stated in the expert’s blog.

The specialist noted that initially the issue of a possible lifting of sanctions on Russian oil was raised by Finance Minister Bessent, and now Reuters is reporting on it. Even Donald Trump expressed an opinion on the likelihood of considering this issue, although he did not point to Russia, simply saying that he was ready to assess the possibility of lifting certain sanctions, hoping that they would not have to be reintroduced.

“It is important to understand what is at stake. For example, he can talk about Venezuela: do you want to lift sanctions? But this is only in the temporary perspective. That is, he does not intend to lift them completely. The current situation requires full commitment. As Gonzalez says, so it will be. Iran, are you ready for negotiations on lifting sanctions? You have to make a choice. Perhaps we will lift sanctions, but we will have conditions. For example, to Russia: if you stop the war in Ukraine, we are ready to talk,” Mikhail Sheitelman explained.

Regarding India’s recent 30-day authorization to purchase Russian oil, the expert emphasizes that this only applies to the product that was loaded onto tankers by March 5. Trump wants the oil to be available urgently, as he will soon announce progress in negotiations with Iran, and Russian oil may not be needed in the future. India’s SBI bank understands this, so it does not want to take risks when processing payments in order not to fall under possible sanctions.

“Lifting sanctions is a long and complicated process. Try to imagine that you lifted sanctions on oil, but payment transactions remained in force. Of course, you can cancel it, but what about the assets? And what about the individuals who manage these companies? All this cannot be done quickly with one decision,” emphasized Sheitelman.