MOSCOW, February 18. /TASS/. The United States’ sanctions against Rosneft Trading, a subsidiary of Russian oil major Rosneft, are illegal, ungrounded and constitute an act of legal arbitrariness, Rosneft said in press statement on Tuesday.
The US administration on Tuesday announced new sanctions against Rosneft Trading S. A. and its and president, Didier Casimiro, for selling Venezuelan oil. Those on the sanctions list have their assets in the US frozen, while American citizens and companies cannot engage in any business activities with them. Washington granted 90 days to complete all deals with Rosneft Trading.
"The sanctions against Rosneft’s subsidiary RTSA and its chief executive that have been announced by the US Department of the Treasury are illegal and ungrounded. They can be interpreted as an act of legal arbitrariness," Rosneft said.
"Notably, the US Department of the Treasury has given no evidence to the company’s illegal activities and violations of the United States’ unilateral restrictions," it stressed. "After analyzing the documents, the company will look at options of legal defense."
The company stressed that it was implementing projects in Venezuela in strict compliance with international law, under contracts signed before the sanctions had been imposed.
"Rosneft began investing in Venezuela’s economy long before the US sanctions. The company’s activities in Venezuela linked with the implementation of production contracts and trading (supplies of oil on the advance payment basis and counter deliveries of oil products) are carried out under contracts signed before the sanctions were imposed and are geared to refund previous investments and implement long-term commercial contracts," the company said.