The latest U.S. sanctions against individuals and entities based in Cyprus will not affect the decision to lift an American arms embargo, State Department spokesperson, Vedant Patel said.
The State Department was commenting on the fact that individuals involved in a sanctions evasion network supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex, were found to have their base in Cyprus.
Patel was responding to Turkish journalists who asked whether the U.S. is considering revising its decision to lift the embargo, he said that there is no new policy to announce on this issue.
He noted that the sanctions announced by the U.S. target individuals in multiple jurisdictions who are connected to a sanctions evasion network supporting Russia’s defence sector, including prominent arms dealer Igor Vladimirovich Zimenkov.
“It has become increasingly difficult for Russia’s military-industrial complex to resupply the Kremlin’s war machine, forcing it to rely on nefarious suppliers such as the DPRK and Iran,” Patel said.
