US Advises India, China Against Buying Venezuela Oil – Envoy Abrams

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The United States is advising India and China against purchasing oil from Venezuela, US Special Representative for Venezuela Elliott Abrams told reporters on Tuesday.

“The two largest customers of Venezuelan oil are India and China in that order. We will be in conversations with the customers to advise them of US policy with respect to the export of Venezuelan oil,” Abrams said at a press briefing. “We will continue to try to persuade those countries that are supporting and sustaining this regime to diminish their activities.”

The official also added that expected Spain's Repsol company to change it activities in Venezuela following sanctions against Rosneft Trading S.A.

"We will have conversations, no doubt ... more conversations with Spanish officials and with Repsol and would expect that as we move forward some of Repsol’s activities would have to change, and that would be true of other foreign oil companies in Venezuela as well," Abrams said.

Earlier in the day, the United States announced sanctions against Swiss-based Rosneft Trading S.A. and its head Didier Casimiro, accusing the Rosneft oil brokerage subsidiary of handling Venezuela’s exports in circumvention of American sanctions.

The US government has imposed multiple sanctions against Venezuela's government and industry sectors, effectively banning US companies from participating in the country’s economy and cooperating with Venezuelan persons and entities.