The decision by the current US administration to impose new restrictive measures against Russia’s energy sector as a whole, as well as against several major companies, including personal sanctions targeting their leadership and officials from the Russian Ministry of Energy, represents an attempt to inflict damage on the Russian economy at any cost, even at the risk of destabilising global markets. This move comes in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s lacklustre tenure in office.

Against the backdrop of Washington’s failed bid to achieve a “strategic defeat” over Moscow, and despite unprecedented external pressure through sanctions aimed at undermining the Russian economy, our country has not only withstood these efforts but continues to develop. The outgoing administration’s attempts to further tighten restrictions appear to be aimed at creating maximum obstacles for bilateral economic relations, including those involving US businesses, or making such cooperation entirely impossible.

In the process, the interests of both the United States’ European allies – who are being forced to switch to more expensive and less reliable American supplies ­– and its own citizens are being sacrificed. This is particularly evident as the population suffers from the aftermath of massive wildfires in California. Public opinion on rising fuel prices, which mattered before the November presidential election (when Russian petroleum products were quietly purchased through intermediaries), can now be ignored. As a result, the incoming president, who cannot revoke these sanctions without congressional approval, will inherit a scorched earth policy – both figuratively and literally.

Naturally, Washington’s hostile actions will not go unanswered and will be taken into account as we shape our foreign economic strategy. Major domestic projects for oil and gas extraction, import substitution, oilfield services, and the construction of nuclear power plants in third countries will continue to move forward. Despite the convulsions in the White House and the manoeuvres of the Russophobic lobby in the West, seeking to drag the global energy sector into the US-initiated hybrid war against Russia, our country remains, and will continue to be, a key and reliable player in the global fuel market.