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US seeks to economically strangle Venezuela, says Russian military intelligence

Head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Directorate Igor Kostyukov said that lawsuits worth $2.5 bln had been filed with US and Canadian courts against the Petroleos de Venezuela company

MOSCOW, April 25. /TASS/. US sanctions are aimed at strangling Venezuela economically, Head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Directorate Vice-Admiral Igor Kostyukov said, addressing the Eighth Moscow Conference on International Security on Thursday.

"Attempts are being made to economically strangle Venezuela. As a result of Washington’s new sectoral sanctions, the country’s oil export, which is the main source of budget revenues, has halved, the country is suffering financial losses of over $1 bln a month," Kostyukov pointed out.

"Control over the foreign assets of strategically important companies and manufacturing facilities has been handed over to the opposition. British banks have refused to return 80 tonnes of gold from Venezuela’s gold reserves," Kostyukov added.

He also said that lawsuits worth $2.5 bln had been filed with US and Canadian courts against the Petroleos de Venezuela company, a key contributor to the national economy.

The Eighth Moscow Conference on International Security is taking place on April 23-25. It agenda includes the most pressing global security issues. The event’s participants are discussing military threats, ways to improve the arms control system, as well as the situations in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and Latin America. The conference involves 35 defense ministers and more than 1,000 experts from over 100 countries.