Oil prices just had their biggest weekly gain since 1983, so Trump’s Treasury Secretary is floating a deal that sends money straight back to Russia

U.S. crude oil prices just recorded their biggest weekly gain since 1983, rising by 35.63%. The sharp rise comes amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran, which has made the oil market highly unstable. The situation has put serious pressure on consumers and the broader economy.

In response, President Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, is openly talking about removing sanctions on Russian oil. The goal is to bring more oil supply into the market and push prices back down. This would effectively allow money to flow back to Russia through oil sales.

According to Mediaite, Bessent says the world has enough oil overall, but there is a “temporary gap” in supply right now. His plan is to unsanction “hundreds of millions of sanctioned barrels of crude” that are currently sitting “on the water.” He believes this would “create supply” and bring prices down, potentially keeping them “sustainably lower and in a safer position for years, if not decades to come.”

Easing Russia sanctions may solve the oil crisis, but it comes with serious political costs

The Treasury has already taken a step in this direction. It granted a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to buy Russian oil that was already in transit. Bessent noted that “the Indians have been very good actors,” saying they had stopped buying Russian oil at the U.S.’s request last fall.

Not everyone supports this move. Republican Representative Don Bacon from Nebraska said on X, “I condemn this decision. The weakness towards Russia is appalling.” Many see any benefit to Russia as a major step backward, given the current state of global politics. In fact, two Republican lawmakers recently broke with their party over Trump’s Iran war powers, showing that divisions within the GOP on foreign policy are growing.

Energy and commodities columnist Javier Blas remarked that Russian President Vladimir Putin “can’t believe his luck,” suggesting the decision could turn out to be a big win for Russia. Analysts also point out that Trump’s broader strategy against China risks falling apart without key elements in place, adding another layer of complexity to the administration’s foreign policy moves.

The shift is also notable given Trump’s earlier stance on oil prices. In a recent interview, he had said, “If they rise, they rise,” suggesting little concern about rising prices at the time. That relaxed attitude appears to have changed quickly as market conditions became harder to ignore, with his Treasury Secretary now pushing actively to bring prices down.