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FILE โ€“ In this Aug. 27, 2018 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, listens to Russian Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin during his flight to visit Chernigovets coal mine, in Beryozovsky, Kemerovo region, Russia. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020, the Treasury Department slapped sanctions on Rosneftโ€™s trading arm and its CEO, accusing the Geneva-based firm of providing a critical lifeline to Venezuelaโ€™s President Nicolas Maduro. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File

 


(AP) โ€” Russiaโ€™s Rosneft oil company said Saturday that itโ€™s halting operations in Venezuela and selling its assets there to a company fully owned by the Russian government, a move apparently intended to protect Russiaโ€™s largest oil producer from U.S. sanctions while Moscow continues supporting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

The sale follows the United States imposing sanctions on two Rosneft subsidiaries in an effort to cut a critical lifeline Russia extended to Maduro after the U.S. government made it illegal for Americans to buy crude from Venezuela.

Rosneft, led by Russian President Vladimir Putinโ€™s longtime associate Igor Sechin, said that its move means that โ€œall assets and trading operations of Rosneft in Venezuela and/or connected with Venezuela will be disposed of, terminated or liquidated.โ€

It said in a statement that it โ€œconcluded an agreement with the company 100% owned by the government of Russian Federation, to sell all of its interest and cease participation in its Venezuelan businesses, โ€ including multiple joint ventures, oil-field services companies and other activities.

The sale could help shield Rosneft by handing over control over the Venezuelan operations to a fully state-owned venture that unlike the state-controlled Rosneft isnโ€™t answerable to private investors.

In February, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rosneft subsidiary based in Geneva that sells crude to European customers. U.S. authorities vowed to keep applying pressure and hit a second Rosneft subsidiary with sanctions earlier this month.

Rosneft spokesman Mikhail Leontyev said the companyโ€™s decision was aimed at โ€œprotecting the interests of our shareholders.โ€ He added in remarks carried by Russiaโ€™s Tass news agency that Rosneft expects the U.S. to now waive sanctions against its subsidiaries.

โ€œWe really have the right to expect American regulators to fulfill their public promises,โ€ he said.

Konstantin Kosachev, the Kremlin-connected head of the foreign affairs committee in the upper house of Russian parliament, reiterated that Russiaโ€™s view is that โ€œunilateral U.S. sanctions against Venezuela are unlawful and inhumane.โ€

โ€œMoscow and Caracas will remain partners amid the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela,โ€ he told the Interfax news agency.

The U.S. was first among nearly 60 nations to recognize opposition leader Juan Guaidรณ a year ago as Venezuelaโ€™s rightful leader. The international coalition considers Maduro illegitimate after 2018 elections widely deemed fraudulent because the most popular opposition candidates were banned from running against him. Russiaโ€™s support has helped Maduro to face down U.S.-backed efforts to unseat him.


Rosneft said in its statement that โ€œthe concluded transaction and the
sale of assets will result in Rosneft receiving as a settlement payment a 9.6% share of Rosneftโ€™s equity capital that will be held by a 100% subsidiary of Rosneft and accounted for as treasury stock.โ€

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This is a masterclass move by Putin. He now has direct control of Russian and Venezuelan oil with Rosneft taking over Citgo and now Russia assuming monopoly over Rosneft.  Meanwhile Exxon is buckling on its knees with crude oil at $21. A barrel, which is one third of the price less than a month ago. And no place to store cheap oil which is overflowing the market. 

Looks like we might have to crank up back the sugar estates in Guyana.

Bibi Haniffa

I hope for the sake of the entire country he does the first right thing since the NCV and step down peacefully. It is not automatic as we see he couldn't even bring himself to personally declare the date for elections but deferred it to someone else in his office. Then even she couldn't give assurance of the actual date. Then even after the tentative elections date was announced, he couldn't bring himself to dissolve Parliament even though Parliament had been defunct for nearly a whole year. Granger is not that honorable person people try to make him out to be. 

FM
Bibi Haniffa posted:

This is a masterclass move by Putin. He now has direct control of Russian and Venezuelan oil with Rosneft taking over Citgo and now Russia assuming monopoly over Rosneft.  Meanwhile Exxon is buckling on its knees with crude oil at $21. A barrel, which is one third of the price less than a month ago. And no place to store cheap oil which is overflowing the market. 

Looks like we might have to crank up back the sugar estates in Guyana.

I think in the big picture of things it is a stupid move. Russia is a mostly socially conservative white country with Putin having a socially conservative white outlook. Russia now imports much of its food products from the west. The only reason why Russia is in Venezuela is because Putin don't want to go politically from power.

Prashad
Baseman posted:

I believe the PNC is holding hope that Russian-American rivalry in Venezuela will help their case in Guyana. Itโ€™s a gamble that may or may not work.

What worries me is that the PPP allowed the China Chinaman to come into Guyana and do whatever that they want when the PPP was in office. I hope that the CIA sees past this and sees the importance of having democracy in all western hemisphere states.

Prashad

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