German Economy Minister Katerina Reiche said that the US will exempt Rosneft's subsidiaries, which are under external control of the German government, from sanctions against Russia, Reuters reported.
The US government has provided written guarantees that the German business of the Russian company Rosneft will be exempt from new sanctions, since the assets are no longer under Russian control. The head of the German economy ministry noted that on Monday evening the US published a letter of guarantee in which it acknowledged that Rosneft's activities in Germany are completely separate from its Russian parent company.
Earlier, the Bild newspaper reported that the German government had begun negotiations with the US administration to exempt Rosneft's subsidiaries, which are under external management by the German government, from new US sanctions. The publication noted that the sanctions could have immediate consequences for three oil refineries: PCK in Schwedt, Miro in Karlsruhe and Bayernoil in Faubourg. The German authorities were most concerned about possible measures against the refinery in Schwedt (in the state of Brandenburg), which supplies oil products to Berlin and the northeastern regions of the country.
On September 8, the German Ministry of Economics announced that the German government had extended the period of external management of the German assets of „Rosneft“ (Rosneft Deutschland GmbH and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH) until March 10, 2026. The agency justified this move by referring to the Energy Security Act. Thus, the Federal Network Agency, as the agency noted, retains control over „Rosneft Deutschland“ and the corresponding shares in the three refineries.
Earlier, the US Treasury Department included „Rosneft“, „Lukoil“ and 34 subsidiaries of these companies in the latest package of sanctions. According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, the new restrictive measures of the US Treasury Department against “Rosneft“ and “Lukoil“ will not create problems for Russia, which has developed a strong immunity to such restrictions. However, she believes that they send a counterproductive signal, including with regard to the Ukrainian settlement.