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Why did Washington blacklist Rosneft Trading in 2020?
Summary
A look back at 18 February 2020, when a US sanctions move targeting Russian oil trade over Venezuela coincided with Russian-backed gains in Syria.
What did Washington do to a Russian oil trader on 18 February 2020? The U.S. State Department added Rosneft Trading S.A., part of the Russian oil company Rosneft, to its financial blacklist, accusing it of helping facilitate the sale of Venezuelan oil. The step was taken as part of international sanctions linked to the Venezuelan crisis.
The listing put a Russian energy company at the centre of a dispute over Venezuela, a country far from Russia's own neighbourhood.
Syria in the background
Russia was also in the news for its role in Syria. As reported on 16 February 2020, Syrian Army troops, backed by Russian airstrikes, had taken control of most of the Aleppo countryside. They captured the towns of Anadan, Haritan and Kafr Hamrah and more than 30 villages, amid a collapse in rebel defences. Much of that area had been under rebel control since 2012.
The offensive in north-western Syria had been under way since December 2019. Taken together, the two developments showed Russian interests drawing attention, and pressure, in separate conflicts in the days around 18 February 2020.
