Earlier in the day, Rosneft announced the cessation of its operations in the South American country, after selling its Venezuelan assets to a Russian state-owned company. Rosneft received 9.6 percent of its own shares as a result of the transaction.
When asked by a Sputnik correspondent to comment on how this would impact US sanctions placed on the Russian oil giant, a State Department representative said that Washington is constantly analyzing all activities related to sanctions imposed on the South American country.
The representative added that the State Department at this moment would not announce its actions with regards to reviewing sanctions placed on the Russian oil giant in light of the sale.
"We are continuously reviewing relevant activity and the viability of future actions under the Venezuela sanctions program. We do not preview our sanctions activities, but we will continue to look for ways to support the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people," the representative said.
Washington continues to call on the international community to impose sanctions against the Venezuelan government that will impact the economy, the representative stated.
"We call on all partner nations to immediately implement serious travel and financial sanctions against the former Maduro regime," the representative remarked.
The US slapped sanctions a subsidiary of Rosneft in February, citing cooperation with Venezuela. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated that the sanctions reflected Washington’s desire to secure an advantage for US companies.
