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Russia concerned about US threats to slap sanctions on Rosneft, says senior diplomat

US envoy for Venezuela earlier said Washington did not rule out sanctions against Rosneft for cooperation with Venezuela

© Maxim Slutsky/TASS

MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. Moscow is concerned about Washington’s statements about potential sanctions against Rosneft, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS.

"We are concerned about the recent statements made by [US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott] Abrams regarding ‘all options on the table,’ which he repeats from time to time, and his threats to impose sanctions on Rosneft. Although sanctions themselves produce no effect, we are concerned because of the absence of the slightest signs of a real understanding of the situation and the interrelation of various processes regarding Venezuela in the United States’ policy," he noted.

Read also

US not set to slap sanctions on Rosneft for doing business in Venezuela — special envoy

Abrams earlier said Washington did not rule out sanctions against Rosneft for cooperation with Venezuela but was not prepared to impose them so far.

Rosneft, which is a major investor in Venezuela, is implementing several joint exploration and production projects with Venezuela’s PDVSA oil company. According to Rosneft, the total geological reserves under these projects are estimated at 20.5 bln tonnes of oil. The companies also have the Perforosven oilfield service joint venture.

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