According to the spokesman, “many anticipate that the Biden Administration will try to leave a difficult legacy in terms of escalating tensions with Russia” and it is evident that the outgoing authorities “will follow this path and try to consolidate that legacy.”

Peskov made these statements commenting on the Bloomberg agency’s publication on the Biden Administration’s plans to impose stricter sanctions on the export of Russian oil.

In particular, the media’s sources indicate that sanctions against the so-called ‘shadow fleet’, that is, ships that transport Russian oil clandestinely and evading sanctions, may be made official in the coming weeks.

However, other analysts doubt this last measure will become a reality. In particular, Stanislav Mitrakhovich, an expert at the National Energy Security Foundation of the Russian government’s Financial University, believes Washington is unlikely to proceed with the forcible detention of oil tankers.

But at the same time, the expert notes that the existing schemes of sanctions against the Russian oil sector have also lost their effectiveness.

In turn, the research director of the Moscow Institute of Energy and Finance, Alexei Belogóriev, said he sees the “Iranian scenario” in relations between Russia and the United States as unlikely, that is, the introduction of sanctions against any state purchasing Russian oil.

The analyst points out that this would lead to a sharp deterioration in relations not only with Russia, but also with China and India, and partly with Turkey, which would cause “a serious international crisis that goes far beyond the Ukrainian problem.”

Since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Western countries have imposed multiple sanctions against Moscow, which covered, among others, the oil sector. In particular, in March 2022 Washington imposed a ban on imports of oil and other energy products from Russia, while the European Union approved a similar measure in December of the same year.

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