Official: Merkel opposes US sanctions against Russia energy firms

BERLIN, Jun 16 (PRIME) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel shares foreign minister’s and chancellor of Austria’s view that the sanctions against Russian energy companies are a matter for concern, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said at a briefing on Friday.

“I can tell you that the opinion of the chancellor and the statement put forward by the foreign minister of Germany and the chancellor of Austria are in full correspondence with each other. The chancellor shares all the worries expressed in this text,” Seibert said.

He said Merkel is convinced that the U.S. sanctions must not be mixed with economic interests.

The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly voted for a bill on sanctions against Iran and Russia.

The sanctions against Russian banks reduce loan terms to 14 days from 90 days earlier.

The sanctions against energy companies limit the term of financing or other deals to 30 days. The document also says that the U.S. president can introduce sanctions on people who plan to invest more than U.S. $5 million per year or $1 million in a single payment in construction of Russian export pipelines.

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