Reuters Declines To Comment On Rosneft's Criticism Over Venezuela Sanctions Article

Thomson Reuters spokesperson told Sputnik on Friday that the media company would not comment on Rosneft's statement calling a Reuters' article that suggested that Venezuela was circumventing Washington's sanctions by funneling money from Venezuelan oil sales through the Russian oil company an "explicit lie."

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2019) Thomson Reuters spokesperson told Sputnik on Friday that the media company would not comment on Rosneft's statement calling a Reuters' article that suggested that Venezuela was circumventing Washington's sanctions by funneling money from Venezuelan oil sales through the Russian oil company an "explicit lie."

"We're going to decline to comment," the spokesperson said.

Reuters reported on Thursday, citing sources and documents it had allegedly reviewed, that Venezuelan oil giant PDVSA was passing invoices from its oil sales to Rosneft, thus letting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro to evade US sanctions aimed at ousting him from power.

The Russian oil company responded to the report by accusing Reuters of systematically spreading disinformation in order to damage Russia, its companies and the Russian economy, saying that it also considered necessary to file a legal complaint over the matter.