A sudden turn after Merz's talks with Trump. Rosneft's German company took a breath

The US Ministry of Finance published a new license on Thursday, excluding the German subsidiary of the Russian oil company Rosneft from sanctions imposed by Washington on Russia. This was supposed to be the result of Tuesday's talks between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Donald Trump in Washington.

The new license replaced the previous exemption of Rosneft Deutschland from sanctions, which was valid until April 29. The new version of the document is valid indefinitely.

Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that such a change was requested by the German government, whose head, Friedrich Merz, visited the White House on Tuesday. After Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the German authorities took Rosneft's German branch under trusteeship. The Russian entity has shares in three German refineries: in the plants in Schwedt, which is the main supplier of petroleum products in Berlin and Brandenburg, it has 54 percent. shares, in Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg – 24 percent, and in Vohburg in Bavaria – 28 percent. According to Bloomberg, Germany sought permanent exclusion from sanctions because it had problems finding a new owner for the plants.

Reuters emphasized that the exemption of Rosneft's German branch from American sanctions reduces the risk of disruptions in the supply of petroleum products to the German market in a situation where tensions in the Middle East threaten to disrupt global oil supplies.

Rosneft's German company is one of a number of subsidiaries of the largest Russian oil companies (Rosneft and Lukoil) that the US has excluded from the sanctions imposed on it. This also applies to Lukoil International, a company based in Vienna, which manages a large part of the group's foreign assets, including a network of gas stations.

From Washington Oskar Górzyński (PAP)

osk/mal/