UPDATE: New US sanctions not to hurt Russian oil projects – deputy min

(Adds comment of German, Austrian officials in paragraphs 4–8)

BERLIN, Jun 15 (PRIME) -- The possible expansion of the sanctions against people connected with Russia’s energy companies will not significantly impact the state’s energy projects, because the firms receive most credits from local banks, Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky told PRIME on Thursday.

The U.S. Senate approved an amendment extending the sanctions against Russia late on Wednesday.

The sanctions against banks restrict the term of loans to 14 days, reducing the term from 90 days earlier. The sanctions against energy companies limit the term of financing or other deals to 30 days.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austria’s Chancellor Christian Kern said in a joint statement that they see the extension of U.S. sanctions against the Russian energy industry as a threat to European companies that partake in development of energy supplies to Europe.

“Since 2014, Europe and the United States have responded to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and Russian actions in eastern Ukraine side by side in close partnership. This was a necessary and right reaction in response to Russia’s behavior … Joint and decisive actions of the European Union and the United States to resolve the crisis in Ukraine is in our common interest. However, we cannot agree with threats of illegal extraterritorial sanctions against European companies which take part in the development of European energy supplies,” the statement read.

“Threatening German, Austrian and other European companies with fines on the U.S. market because they take part in or finance gas projects like the Nord Stream-2 with Russia bring a new and a very negative quality to the E.U.–U.S. relations.”

Gabriel and Kern said that the sanctions threaten competitiveness of the European industry and thousands of jobs, and supported efforts of the U.S. Department of State aimed at changing the approved bill.

Europe should solve the energy supply problem on its own, as it is not for the U.S. to decide who supplies energy to the region. The E.U. will resolve the problem in compliance with rules of transparency and competitiveness, while political sanctions should not be tied to economic interests. Bringing politics into economy would hurt the common position of the U.S. and the E.U. on the Ukrainian conflict, the officials said.

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