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License expiry puts pressure on Russia

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Biden administration had set the clock on its expiry

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Trump administration considers more sanctions

(Adds background about license, comment from analyst)

By David Lawder and Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - The administration of

President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the wind-down of a

license allowing energy transactions with Russian financial

institutions expired this week, raising pressure on Russian

President Vladimir Putin to come to a peace agreement over

Ukraine.

A Treasury spokesperson said that General License 8L expired

as scheduled at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.

The administration of President Joe Biden had issued the

wind-down on January 10 as part of its toughest sanctions

against Russia's oil and gas revenues. It coordinated the effort

with then President-elect Donald Trump's team to improve his and

Ukraine's negotiating position as part of any peace talks.

The wind-down allowed time to clear remaining transactions

ahead of the energy financing deals with Russian banks,

including Sberbank, VTB and the Central Bank of the Russian

Federation. Letting it expire means the Russian banks now are

blocked from accessing U.S. payment systems.

The Biden administration issued the license on energy

transactions in a sanctions package shortly after Russia's

February 2022 invasion of Ukraine to prevent a spike in global

oil prices.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has criticized Biden's

sanctions on Russia as being ineffective because the effort was

preoccupied with keeping oil prices low.

The Trump administration "remains focused on ending the

fighting and fostering negotiations to end the war," the

Treasury spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "We continue

to implement our sanctions, which remain one of the levers to

facilitate these goals."

The sanctions also banned dollar transactions with Russian

energy firms Gazprom Neft and Surneftegas as well as

183 vessels that have shipped Russian oil, including many in the

so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers operated by non-Western

companies.

ClearView Energy Partners, an energy policy research group,

has said the expiry of the license, could potentially complicate

and maybe halt some third countries' petroleum purchases.

The U.S. Treasury Department is looking at possible

sanctions on Russian oil majors and oilfield service companies,

a source familiar with the matter said last week, deepening

steps already taken by Biden.