"For purposes of this Directive, the term 'Russian sovereign' means any ministry, agency, or sovereign fund of the Russian Federation, including the Central Bank of Russia, the National Wealth Fund, and the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation. This term does not include state-owned enterprises of the Russian Federation," the document says.
In addition, restrictions are not imposed on the participation of US banks in bond purchases on the secondary market of the Russian sovereign debt.
Earlier, the department announced the second round of sanctions over Russia's alleged poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal in the UK city of Salisbury in 2018, in which Moscow has repeatedly refuted any role. New sanctions will enter into force on 26 August.
"The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that it is implementing two sanctions on the Russian Federation as part of measures imposed by the U.S. government pursuant to the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991, as amended ("CBW Act"), in response to Russia’s use of the "Novichok" nerve agent in Salisbury, United Kingdom (UK) in March 2018", the statement said.
The treasury department insisted that Moscow failed to comply with the conditions described in the CBW Act.
"To implement the sanction related to U.S. bank loans, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is issuing a Russia-related Directive (the "CBW Act Directive") under the Executive Order (E.O.) of August 1, 2019. The CBW Act Directive prohibits U.S. banks from participating in the primary market for non-ruble denominated bonds issued by the Russian sovereign and also prohibits U.S. banks from lending non-ruble denominated funds to the Russian sovereign", the statement continued.
The second package of US sanctions against Russia over the Salisbury incident includes restrictions on public debt and Washington’s demand for international organizations, for example, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), not to provide loans to Moscow.
US banks will be banned from participating in the ruble-denominated initial placement of Russian sovereign bonds and other types of lending to the Russian government.
Additional restrictions will be imposed on Russian exports of some materials, goods and equipment.
In March 2018, Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a bench near a shopping center in Salisbury. London claimed they were poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent and accused Moscow of staging the attack. Moscow has repeatedly refuted all accusations.
