Moscow comments on latest US sanctions
US President Joe Biden’s only legacy will be the “mess” he leaves behind, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said in response to Washington announcing new oil- and gas-related sanctions on Moscow.
The sweeping US Treasury measures target two major petroleum producers – Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegaz – as well as their subsidiaries and entities providing various services, including insurance and transportation.
“Some people leave a mark on history, while others manage only a mess,” Zakharova told Russian media.
In addition to major oil and gas producers, the US has targeted more than 30 oilfield service providers, insurance companies, and over 180 vessels used to deliver Russian oil. That so-called “shadow fleet” has continued to operate after the US and its allies banned Russian ships from obtaining insurance in the West and tried to impose a price cap on oil sales, to no effect.
Gazprom Neft CEO Aleksandr Dyukov, LUKOIL head Vadim Vorobyev, Zarubezhneft head Sergey Kudryashov, Tatneft head Nail Maganov, Bashneft CEO Vladimir Chernov and Rosatom CEO Aleksey Likhachev have also been added to the US blacklist.
The latest sanctions come in the last 10 days of President Joe Biden’s administration. Another measure announced by the Treasury, stipulating that the US will be able to go after “any person determined to operate or have operated in the energy sector” of Russia, is scheduled to take effect at the end of February, weeks after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
The US and its allies have imposed tens of thousands of sanctions on Moscow in multiple rounds since 2014, when a Western-backed coup in Kiev prompted Crimea to rejoin Russia by referendum and led to a conflict between Ukraine and the Donbass republics. The number of measures surged after the launch of Russia’s special military operation in February 2022.
