Rosneft issued a response to the U.S. special representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams' statement on Tuesday about possible U.S. sanctions on the company if it imports oil from Venezuela, declaring such a move a 'seizure of investments.'
Earlier on Tuesday, Abrams said that Washington could not exclude imposing sanctions against Russian oil company Rosneft at some point over buying Venezuelan oil.
'Yes, it is possible. We haven't gotten to that point yet,' Abrams said.
Rosneft, however, affirmed that sanctions on contracts for Venezuelan oil imports would be invalid.
'These contracts are signed before the U.S. sanctions against Venezuela, and are intended to be repaid only on previous investments,' Rosneft's statement read.
It further asserted that the U.S. aims to generate new tensions on the global markets through sanctions.
Reporting By E. Gurkan Abay in Moscow
Writing By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
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