Putin Again Tells Energy Giants To Use Iran War Windfall To Pay Off Bank Loans: ‘Wise Decision’

In yet more unintended blowback from Washington’s Iran war gambit, now in its fourth week, President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russian oil and gas companies must use windfall profits from the Iran war to reduce debt. It’s been no secret that higher crude prices, amid the ongoing massive disruption to global energy supplies due to the Hormuz Strait effective closure, have been a boon to Russia as it continues to fund its war machine in Ukraine. At a meeting with senior economic officials, Putin said Russian energy firms “should consider directing additional revenues… to pay off their debt to domestic banks.” He underscored, “That would be a mature decision.” It’s not the first time of the war he’s presented this as a ‘wise’ move before Russia’s energy sector. Russia’s Urals crude climbed above $100 per barrel last week, after just prior to Trump’s Operation Epic Fury it had been trading at steep discounts.  However, the situation drastically changed when the US Treasury Department issued a sanctions waiver this month covering Russian crude and petroleum shipments loaded between March 12 and April 11. Soon after, several Asian countries reliant on Middle Eastern energy signaled plans to increase purchases of Russian oil. Click here to read more Also read: US […]

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