Russia is sending cargoes of sanctioned oil to India on tankers that have been blacklisted by the US Treasury — setting up an acid test of Moscow's ability to get around aggressive measures imposed by Washington earlier this month.

Trade for March-loading Russian oil in top buyer Asia has stalled as a wide price gap between buyers and sellers emerged in China after costs for chartering tankers unaffected by U.S. sanctions jumped,

Russia has continued to send cargoes of crude oil to India on tankers that have been sanctioned by the US, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. This situation presents a crucial test of Moscow’s ability to circumvent the stringent sanctions implemented by Washington earlier this month.

Al-Sharaa is not willing to continue cooperation with Moscow without 'concrete measures such as compensation, reconstruction, and recovery' after years of support for the Assad regime

A delegation of Russian officials arrived in Damascus on Tuesday for the first such visit to Syria since the fall of former President Bashar Assad. Assad, an ally of Moscow, took refuge in Russia after his ouster in December in a lightning rebel offensive.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister and a special envoy arrived in Damascus. Theirs was the first such visit since President Bashar al-Assad fled the country, according to Russian state news.