site.btaAlliance for Rights and Freedoms Calls for Parliamentary Hearing over US Sanctions on Lukoil

The Alliance for Rights and Freedoms (ARF) will insist on holding a hearing in the plenary hall of the National Assembly regarding the sanctions imposed by the United States on the Russian companies Rosneft and Lukoil, ARF Deputy Chair Sevim Ali told reporters in Parliament on Thursday.

"ARF will demand that a hearing be held as early as tomorrow [October 24] not in the Parliamentary Energy Committee, but in the plenary hall, so that we can understand the scope of the sanctions on Lukoil," Ali said.

He noted that the Lukoil oil refinery near the coastal city of Burgas is part of Bulgaria’s energy infrastructure and stressed that citizens should be assured the domestic fuel market will remain secure.

According to Reuters, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday imposed Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia for the first time in his second term, targeting oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft as his frustration grows with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war. The global news agency quoted the US Treasury Department as saying that it was prepared to take further action as it called on Moscow to agree immediately to a ceasefire in Russia's war in Ukraine. "We encourage our allies to join us in and adhere to these sanctions," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.