German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he’s optimistic that the US will exempt Rosneft PJSC’s German unit from Washington’s latest sanctions against Russia.

Days after canceling a planned summit with Putin, citing a lack of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, Trump took a major step by effectively blacklisting Rosneft and Lukoil.

Trump's sanctions come as the EU agreed to impose new measures targeting Moscow's oil and gas revenues, which together are likely to maintain economic pressure on Russia despite Trump's faltering peace push and an escalation of the Kremlin's offensive in Ukraine.

The German government is racing to secure exemptions from US sanctions targeting Russia’s oil company Rosneft, which still owns three refineries in Germany that have been placed under state administration.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (23 October) acknowledged that fresh US sanctions on Russia’s leading oil producers were “serious,” but insisted they would not have a major effect on the country’s economy.

The effectiveness of US sanctions against Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil depends on their enforcement by major importers India and China, according to an international trade expert in Berlin.