US President Donald Trump signed earlier on Wednesday into law a bill overwhelmingly supported by the US Congress, that stipulates tougher sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea.
"It is still too early to make conclusions at the moment. Because it is not discussed yet what kind of sanctions it would be, what the scale of these decisions would be, whom it would target," the spokesperson said, commenting on the issue.
According to the spokesperson, there is no precise information on how exactly the restrictive measures will be implemented.
"There is not much to comment at the moment," the spokesperson said, adding that the company could not influence the timing for making any estimates regarding the new sanctions' impact.
The new US sanctions are supposed to limit the financing period for sanctioned Russian banks to 14 days, and for sanctioned oil and gas sector companies to 60 days. The law also provides for counteracting the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project as it allegedly threatens the energy security of Ukraine and the European Union, and proposes to export US energy to ensure the energy security of US allies.
The Nord Stream 2 project, a joint venture of Russia’s Gazprom with France's Engie, Austria’s OMV AG, Royal Dutch Shell, Germany's Uniper and Wintershall, presumes the construction of two gas pipelines with a combined annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters of gas. The EU companies agreed in April to provide part of long-term financing of the gas pipeline project, estimated at 9.5 billion euros ($10.6 billion). The new pipeline is planned to be laid along the existing Nord Stream pipeline route from the Russian coast through the Baltic Sea and into a hub in Germany.
