US Threats To Slap New Sanctions On Rosneft Over Venezuela Illegitimate - Russia's Ryabkov

Muhammad Irfan Published September 11, 2019 | 11:46 AM

US statements about the possibility of new sanctions against Russian oil giant Rosneft over the company's work in Venezuela are illegitimate, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th September, 2019) US statements about the possibility of new sanctions against Russian oil giant Rosneft over the company's work in Venezuela are illegitimate, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams said that Washington did not rule out a new round of sanctions against Rosneft at some point over buying Venezuelan oil. Commenting on this statement, Rosneft said oil shipments of Venezuelan oil had been carried out under previous contracts.

"For sure," Ryabkov said when asked whether whether Moscow saw US statements as illegitimate.

However, Russia is not afraid of any sanctions, he said.

"Rosneft has long been under sanctions," the deputy foreign minister recalled.

As one of the largest foreign investors in Venezuela, Rosneft is currently involved in five joint oil exploration projects with Venezuelan state-owned oil and gas company PDVSA, and has also been granted a production license for Venezuela's Patao and Mejillones offshore fields and the right to export the produced gas for more than three decades.