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Why US 'Won't Stop Oil Cooperation With Venezuela' Despite Sanctions

© REUTERS / Isaac Urrutia/File PhotoOil pumps are seen in Lake Maracaibo, in Lagunillas, Ciudad Ojeda, in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, March 20, 2015
Oil pumps are seen in Lake Maracaibo, in Lagunillas, Ciudad Ojeda, in the state of Zulia, Venezuela, March 20, 2015 - Sputnik International
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The US will never stop cooperating with Venezuela in the oil sector, even though it imposed sanctions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a Russian political expert and deputy head of the Center for US, Canadian and Latin American Studies, Dmitry Burykh, told Sputnik.

The United States imposed sanctions against Maduro, accusing him of "undermining democracy." Maduro himself said he was not afraid and even proud of the sanctions.

In an interview with Sputnik, Burykh called the US decision to introduce restrictive measures against the Venezuelan leader an attempt to "exert pressure" and "interfere in the internal political processes of another country."

However, the expert is confident that the sanctions won't affect cooperation between the two states in the oil sector.

"Ninety percent of the US refineries are oriented towards raw materials of Venezuelan quality, so, naturally, the United States will never stop oil cooperation," Burykh said.

Demonstrators take part in a rally to honour victims of violence during a protest against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela - Sputnik International
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He noted that even during the time of Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, who called former US President George W. Bush a "devil," cooperation between the two countries in the oil sphere was not suspended.

On Monday, the United States imposed sanctions on Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro, but stopped short of punishing the Latin American country's oil sector. In an interview with Sputnik, economist Rafael Quiroz Serrano explained why.

Venezuela is exporting 823,000 barrels of crude oil to the US a year, all of which is bought by privately owned refineries. A total of 550,000 barrels go to four Venezuelan-owned refineries in Texas, Louisiana and other US states.

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