New Delhi [India], March 7 (ANI): Russian strategic expert Tatiana Kukhareva, on Saturday, said that the US Treasury Department's 30-day waiver for India to buy Russian oil is about economics, not geopolitics.

Speaking to ANI, she said that US President Donald Trump's approach prioritises the economy and money, and he'll ease sanctions if it suits his interests.

'It was very clear that it's not really about Russian oil. Trump has been clear from the very beginning that he is about the economy, that he's about money... We've seen how he negotiates. He does it the same way every time, and nothing has changed in all of these years. It was a very safe bet that as soon as the narrative doesn't suit him, he lets it go... If those patterns are remaining the same, then this situation (West Asia conflict) is also more about oil than anything else. As long as he gets what he really wants, he will ease the sanctions to some degree because he is quite logical in the way he operates,' she said.

She further underlined the recent Venezuela incident, when the US military forces launched a large-scale surprise raid on Caracas and captured Venezuela's former President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, stating that it clearly shows how far he can go to obtain commodities.

Kukhareva noted that Trump's narratives target domestic audiences, and his actions may not translate to achieving stated goals. The move is seen as a safe bet, given Trump's negotiating style.

'Everything a US President says is directed primarily towards their core audience... That is the problem because his narratives do not translate, especially here... The whole shebang with Venezuela showed us just how far he would go to get his hands on commodities... If he is sticking to the geo-economic angle of what he's doing, then as soon as he hits the actual target, we're going to see the narrative reverse,' she stated.

Speaking on the upcoming midterm elections, Kukhareva said that Trump knows that if the Democrats take even one of the houses back from him, the situation will be difficult for him, making the US President spin stories in the media for the domestic audience.

'He spins things in the media for the domestic audience because he's looking at midterm elections. He needs to secure a win because if the Democrats take back even one of the houses, it's going to be difficult for him...So it doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to achieve what they're saying they want to achieve because it's not about regime change. It is not about politics. It's about geo-economics rather than geopolitics, really.'

Meanwhile, with the crisis in the Gulf severely hampering shipping routes that pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States on Thursday (local time) allowed a 30-day waiver for India to purchase Russian Oil to meet its energy requirements. (ANI)