Finance and energy industries not targeted by US sanctions: All companies on the fresh round of sanctions are owned by Gennady Timchenko, Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, or Bank Rossiya, which were targets of the second round, the US Treasury Department said in a statement on their website on Monday, April 28. Companies have been designated on the Entity List based on a determination they are involved, or pose a significant risk of becoming involved, in activities contrary to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, the US Office of Congressional and Public Affairs said in a press release. The Rotenbergs bank, SMP, was ready for the sanctions, according to a bank spokesperson, who said the lending institution had already taken a number of precautions to minimize any sanction-related damage to customers. No publicly-listed Russian companies were included on the new sanction list, but Obama said that the US and its allies would keep broader sanctions “in reserve” in the event of further escalation on the ground in Ukraine. Before, US politicians called for sanctions against Russias finance and energy sectors. Igor Sechin, the head of Russia’s biggest oil company Rosneft is the only Russian businessman singled out by on the US. Rosneft shares in Moscow fell 1.56 percent at 18:30 Moscow Time. The total market capitalization of the company is $64.7 billion. BP shares were down 1.3 percent. By personally going after Sechin, the US has sent a message that the next round of sanctions could take a hit the heart of the Russian economy- the energy sector. When Sechin was rumored to be on a previous EU sanction list, a spokesperson said the move was stupid and would sabotage the West, which has very tight-knit relations with Big Oil companies based in the UK and US. Rosneft is the world’s largest-listed oil company, and British Petroleum (BP) has a 19.75 percent stake, making it the biggest foreign investor in Russias oil sector. BP, Europes second-largest oil company is based in the UK, but over 40 percent of assets are located in the US.BP CEO Bob Dudley has told shareholders the company remains positive about business with Russia. Other individuals on the list are politicians, including Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and Aleksey Pushkov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. Individuals on the new list will have their assets frozen and be denied visas to travel to the US. Previously, the EU and US blacklisted dozens of Russian politicians and businessmen, freezing assets and issuing travel bans. The US also imposed sanctions on Russia’s 14th largest lender, Bank Rossiya. The US Treasury Departments statement said the new sanctions were motivated by Russias failure to deescalate violence in neighboring Ukraine. Moscow maintains that further economic sanctions against Russia simply fuel the revival of a Cold War mentality and are counter-productive. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Western efforts to disrupt Russias influence over the world energy market will backfire and hurt the US. The EU has so far not introduced a third stage of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, as there is little consensus among member states. On April 17, leaders from Russia, Ukraine, EU, and the US agreed a peace plan for Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland.
Posted on: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 18:57:06 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015