Contents tagged with US sanctions on Russia

  • Ukrainian energy expert: Nobody can stop Nord Stream-2

    Nobody can stop the construction of the Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline. Sanctions could provoke another trade war and were a motive for negotiations, said energy expert Valentin Zemlyansky in an interview with Inforesists news outlet, when commenting on the U.S. President Donald Trump decision not to impose sanctions against Nord Stream-2.

    "It is absolutely clear that these sanctions were directed not so much against Russian companies but against Germany and the EU. If introduced, they would lead …

  • Putin: Russia ready to finance Nord Stream 2 in event of US sanctions

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is prepared to fully finance the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline if the US places sanctions on participants of the consortium.

    Putin informed the German government of these plans during his visit to the Schloss Meseberg on August 18, when he met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reports, citing informed sources.

    At present, the Nord Stream 2 pipeline is being built by an international consortium of …

  • Russian businesses prepare to be cut off from US dollar

    Major Russian businesses have started preparing for new US sanctions which, in addition to prohibiting investments into Russian government debt, will also block certain Russian government banks from transacting in dollars.

    According to the Russian news agency TASS, such companies as Alrosa and Nornickel have already tried out the first deals without the dollar system.

    Alrosa, the world’s leading diamond miner by volume, which has earned $3 billion in the first 7 months of 2018, has tested a …

  • Experts: new US sanctions will cause 10% of investors to withdraw from Russian government bonds

    New US sanctions that may be imposed on the Russian national debt may lead to an outflow of 8-10% of investors from Russian sovereign debt bonds, according to the results of a study conducted by the Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA), reported TASS.

    Analysts believe that the introduction of new sanctions for the purchase of the Russian national debt will significantly reduce the investor base, which will lead to a strong increase in the cost of borrowing for the Russian government.

    " …

  • Media: Russian banks stop issuing Visa and MasterCard in Crimea

    Crimea-based Genbank (part of the Bank of Russia group) announced last week that its support of the Visa and MasterCard payment systems would end as of August 14. It was the last bank in Crimea to issue the cards of the international payment systems, the BBC Russian service notes.

    As of Tuesday, August 14, all Visa and MasterCard operations will no longer work. A Genbank call center employee clarified to Reuters in a phone call that the decision was made in connection with the sanctions placed …

  • Kremlin: Russia might stop using US dollars in oil trade

    Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov did not rule out the possibility of using national currencies instead of the US dollar, he said on Sunday, August 12 on Russian TV. "We should build our policy considering the possible risks that arise from the actions of our American partners,” he stressed.

    The First Deputy Prime Minister also said that Moscow has significantly reduced investments in American assets and gold and foreign currency reserves and will continue this policy in the future. At …

  • New US sanctions may threaten Russia's nuclear industry

    The new USA sanctions bill imposes restrictions on the importation of low-enriched uranium from Russia until 2031 which might affect the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom.

    The newspaper Kommersant reports that this measure may affect the key market of Rosatom. In 2017, Rosatom's Techsnabexport (TENEX), a subsidiary that works mostly with nuclear power plants, received more than 40% of its revenue from exports of low-enriched uranium to the United States.

    Earlier, the USA …

  • U.S. Treasury says it will continue sanctions against Russia and Iran

    The head of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, assured lawmakers at hearings in the Senate that the ministry under his auspices will continue implementing programs to impose sanctions against Russia and Iran, as reported on the Department of the Treasury’s website.

    The hearings, about the department’s budget for the 2019 fiscal year, were held in the Appropriations Committee. “Budgetary funds will also be used in harmony with the Countering America’s Adversaries Through …

  • USA threatens Russia with new sanctions

    Acting United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Sigal Mandelker said that Washington is ready to respond with new sanctions to a full range of "malign activity" by Moscow.

    The speaker did not name specific actions and possible measures, noting only that this concerns elements of a corrupt system, thanks to which the government elites and the oligarchs of the Russian Federation receive a "disproportionate profit."

    "We’re sending a very clear message to Russian oligarchs and elites who …

  • American sanctions against Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport go into effect

    Washington has imposed sanctions against Rosoboronexport, accusing it of violating the U.S. nonproliferation of weapons in relation to Iran, North Korea, and Syria.

    JSC Rosoboronexport is the sole state intermediary agency for Russia's exports/imports of defense-related and dual use products, technologies and services

    The decision was made on April 30 and goes into effect on May 9, reported Interfax-Ukraine, citing the U.S. Federal Register.

    In accordance with the decision, no departments or …