'This is not rewarding Russia' — US official defends extension of sanctions waiver on Russian oil

Prefer on Google by Abbey Fenbert Michael Waltz, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, testifies during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on April 15, 2026. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) The United States' decision to extend the temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions is not a reward for Moscow, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told NBC News on April 19. "This is not rewarding Russia. That's ridiculous," Waltz said during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" with Kristen Welker. Waltz's comments come after the U.S. Treasury Department on April 17 issued a temporary license renewing a sanctions waiver that allows countries to purchase Russian oil stranded at sea. The general license, issued by the U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control, replaces a previous waiver that expired April 11. The waiver was renewed two days after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration "will not be renewing the general license on Russian oil." The new license allows countries to buy Russian oil and petroleum products loaded onto vessels as of April 15 through May 16. The Trump administration has justified the waivers as a measure to alleviate surging oil prices following the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran . Waltz defended the administration's decision to extend the waiver, sidestepping questions about Bessent's curious about-face. "Well, look, Secretary Bessent has been clear that what has been allowed to move is actually out on the water," Waltz told Welker. "What is not being allowed to move is coming out of Iranian refineries right now. And that's the same with Russian oil as well." Welker asked Waltz why the U.S. would reward Russia , an ally of Iran. "(T)hat's oil that was going to market. And now rather than just going to China, it can go to some of our other allies and partners, number one," Waltz said. "But number two, what has Russia lost? Russia has lost one of its military partners in terms of its biggest drone provider, Iran, whose military-industrial complex has been absolutely devastated." Moscow has reportedly pocketed billions in profits since the war in Iran began. Estimates from U.S. Senate Democrats shared with the Kyiv Independent suggest Russia earned an additional $150 million per day — more than $4 billion by the time the first waiver expired — due to market conditions tied to the war. Timothy Ash, an associate fellow at Chatham House, separately estimated that Moscow's financial gains could approach $10 billion. Despite these gains, Waltz defended the Trump administration's sanctions regime as tough on Russia. "(I)t's this administration that put sanctions on Russia's number one and number two oil providers at Rosneft and Lukoil, unlike the last administration," he said. "So I don't think anybody could argue, if you actually look at the facts and not the rhetoric, that this administration hasn't taken a tough stand to both end the war in Ukraine but also end Iran's race towards a nuclear weapon." Senate Democrats have condemned the Treasury's extension of the sanctions waiver, calling it "shameful."