WASHINGTON, April 24. /TASS/. The US has stopped hiding the true purpose of sanctions on Moscow, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.

"Washington has stopped hiding the true intent of its restrictive pressure on our country. It’s not about any mythical aspirations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, but about banal opportunistic and predatory ambitions. A trivial scenario is in order: if the Americans cannot win in a fair economic competition, sanctions are used," he pointed out, commenting on US officials’ statements about plans to increase pressure on Russia’s energy sector.

Antonov stressed that US officials "use every opportunity" to threaten Russia with restrictions.

Earlier, US Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt said that Washington expected to further restrict Russia’s access to European energy markets.

As Antonov marked, US officials believe that energy security is about dominating markets and eliminating competition.

"Energy security, according to Washington, is the desire to dominate markets, complete subordination of satellites and stopping any competition. We doubt that such approaches are viable in a multipolar world," he noted in a post on the Russian Embassy’s Telegram channel.

The US is increasing hydrocarbon production, while pushing other countries to abandon the use of fossil fuels, Antonov added.

"While broadcasting slogans about the existential threat from a warming planet and pushing other countries to abandon the use of fossil fuels, the United States is rapidly increasing its domestic production of hydrocarbons. They are hooking the allies on their own gas for decades to come. Of course, such a situation is not called "unacceptable dependence." This, they insist, is a different story," he noted.