Moscow hopes US bill banning Russian oil to China remains bill

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Russia hopes that the US bill sanctioning China over its purchase of Russian oil will remain a mere bill, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday.

Senator Marco Rubio of Florida filed legislation on Tuesday that would impose sanctions on any firm insuring or registering tankers transporting oil or liquefied natural gas from Russia to China.

Rubio claimed that Beijing was supporting the operation in Ukraine by buying oil from Russia.

"The US is not trying [to ban Russian oil supplies to China], there is a legislative initiative of one of the congressmen if I am not mistaken. But let's hope that this initiative will remain an initiative at the initial stage," Peskov told reporters.

Beijing resolutely opposes any illegal unilateral penalties, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian in response to Washington's intention to punish China for buying Russian oil.

The cooperation between China and Russia is not aimed at third parties, according to the diplomat, and it will not be weakened by external forces.

Linking gas deliveries with EU sanctions wrong

It is wrong to link the level of Russian gas supplies to Europe with the removal of EU sanctions against Moscow but the restrictions affected Gazprom’s delivery volumes, Peskov highlighted.

Bloomberg reported that Russia planned to keep gas deliveries at a minimal level until the lifting of EU sanctions.

"This is completely wrong to link [these issues]... Gazprom supplies as much as necessary and as much as possible. We know that now the technical possibilities for pumping have decreased, they have narrowed," he said.

Peskov, however, clarified that this was due to the process of maintenance of various units being incredibly difficult due to the restrictions and sanctions that Europe has imposed.

Moscow had repeatedly warned that further maintenance delays could result in a complete shutdown of gas flows via the pipeline network.

The spokesperson added that Gazprom remains a "reliable" supplier but can not guarantee required delivery volumes "if imported equipment maintenance is not possible due to European sanctions."

Unblocking transit to Kaliningrad positive fact

The European Union and Russia reached in mid-July an agreement on the transit of goods to Kaliningrad after the Lithuanian railway authorities notified the railway authorities of the Kaliningrad region that it would suspend the transit of a number of goods subject to EU sanctions.

The goods in question include coal, metals, construction materials, and advanced technology, and the ban covers around 50% of the region's imports.

Peskov praised on Wednesday the decision to unblock the transit of Russian cargo through Lithuania to Kaliningrad, saying it was a good decision. It can be considered as the West's germs of common sense towards Russia, he added.

"It is probably positive that the Europeans themselves have realized how vital this is for Russia and how inapplicable their decisions are in the context of Kaliningrad," the spokesperson told reporters.

"All this has been achieved through a process of dialogue and clarification. Of course, there is still a lot of work to be done because certain questions still remain. But nevertheless, now, such a crisis situation has been unblocked, and this is a positive fact," he added.