Berlin says Rosneft subsidiaries not impacted by US sanctions

US sanctions targeting Rosneft will not impact the Russian oil giant’s German subsidiaries, which were placed under state administration after Moscow invaded Ukraine, the German government told AFP on Tuesday.

The economy ministry “has received assurances from the relevant US authorities that the sanctions are not intended to target Rosneft’s German subsidiaries”, a spokesman said.

“Business transactions with the subsidiaries can continue.”

The US administration had provided a document offering assurances, and Berlin soon expected to receive “further clarifications that provide legal certainty”, he said.

The German operations of Rosneft “are decoupled from their Russian parent company”, the spokesman stressed.

“Their business operations cannot therefore be controlled from Russia and do not generate income for the Russian parent company or the Russian state.”

Last week, US President Donald Trump announced the sanctions on Rosneft and another Russian oil giant, Lukoil, complaining that talks with Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war were not going anywhere.

The German government seized Rosneft’s German assets and placed them under the trusteeship of the federal energy regulator in September 2022, in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It was supposed to be a temporary measure while talks were ongoing with Moscow to sell the assets, but these efforts have so far failed.

Rosneft still owns shares in three German refineries, including the major PCK site near Berlin.

(mm)