No shift in U.S. policies of Russia sanctions - State Dept

The U.S. policies related to bringing Russia to accountability over its war against Ukraine have not changed and they provide for further restrictions aimed at forcing the Kremlin to cease its aggression.

That’s according to the spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, Vedant Patel, who spoke at a briefing on Tuesday, Ukrinform’s own correspondent reports.

“When it comes to our efforts to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its infringement on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our Ukrainian partners, we have not taken our foot off the gas going back to February of 2022 since this invasion occurred,” the official said.

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He stressed that the U.S. “will continue to take steps” as regards continued support to the Ukrainian partners and also through sanctions, export controls, and other measures to hold the Russian Federation accountable.

“There is no policy shift at all,” the official emphasized.

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As reported, the U.S. Treasury announced relaxation of restrictions against a group of Russian banks. In particular, in the recently issued license, operations in the field of energy were allowed until November 1, 2024 for the Russian banks Vnesheconombank, Otkritie, Sberbank Rossii, VTB, Alfa Bank, Rosbank, Zenit, St. Petersburg, as well as the Central Bank of Russia.

The specified financial institutions will be able to run transactions related to the extraction, production, processing, and transportation of energy resources.