American carrot and Russian stick: the United States complicates payments for Russian oil and gas

Alexey Gromov, Principal Director on Energy studies at the Institute for Energy and Finance, commented to Forbes on the US license suspension to make payments for oil and gas through sanctioned Russian banks.

It is not difficult to renew the license under American law, Alexey Gromov confirms. According to him, it is much more difficult to lift any sanctions, since this decision must be passed through both chambers of the American Congress, while the license extension is the prerogative of the presidential administration.

"If the positive dynamics in the negotiations between the United States and Russia continue, then this issue may be included in the agenda and it will be possible to resume paying for Russian energy resources in dollars,— Gromov says. — I don't see this as a systemic and long-term problem for the industry yet. Moreover, Trump has repeatedly stressed in his statements that he wants to restore confidence in the dollar and strengthen it as the basis of the settlement system in international trade, primarily in the energy market. Therefore, I have a strong feeling that the suspension of the license is really a temporary measure in the negotiating position of the United States."