Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied claims that Russian tankers violated UN sanctions by delivering oil to North Korean tankers.
That statement followed after Reuters published claims by anonymous security officials that in October and November, Russian tankers delivered oil and petroleum products to North Korean tankers at sea and that this was a violation of sanctions, writes Tanjug.
In a statement from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, carried by Russian news agencies, it is stated that Russia "fully and strictly followed the sanctions regime", without explaining whether the Russian ships had transferred the oil.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that the North Korean import of refined oil is limited, but not completely prohibited, by the resolutions of the UN Security Council.
The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted multiple rounds of sanctions against North Korea over its missile tests and nuclear program, including a tough new UN resolution passed last weekend.
The resolution adopted by the UN Security Council prohibits almost 90 percent of the export of petroleum products to North Korea by limiting them to 500.000 barrels per year and requires the repatriation of North Koreans working abroad within 24 months.
As Reuters previously reported the claims of two security officials from Western Europe, Russian tankers have supplied oil to North Korea at least three times in the previous months across the sea. Such sales of oil and oil derivatives from Russia, the second largest oil exporter in the world and a member of the United Nations Security Council that has the right to veto, violates United Nations sanctions, security sources said. Deliveries that took place in October and November indicate that smuggling from Russia to North Korea was done by loading cargo ships at sea. "Russian ships have been delivering to North Korea at sea," one of the two anonymous Reuters sources claimed. He stated that the transfer of oil or oil products occurred several times and that this was a violation of sanctions. Another source who independently confirmed the existence of ship-to-ship oil fuel exchanges between Russia and North Korea said there was no evidence of state involvement in the latest shipments. "There is no evidence that this is supported by the Russian state, but these Russian ships are providing survival assistance to the North Koreans," he said. AP previously reported that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously rejected claims that Moscow violated UN sanctions against North Korea, stressing that Russia "fully and strictly adheres to the sanctions regime." The Russian Ministry's statement, reported by the RIA Novosti agency, was issued in response to earlier allegations that appeared in the media that Russian tankers had been delivering fuel to North Korean tankers at sea over the past few months. Two security sources spoke of intelligence and satellite images of ships conducting operations in Russia's eastern Pacific ports, but declined to disclose details to Reuters, citing confidentiality. The Russian customs service declined to comment on Wednesday when asked about whether Russian ships were supplying oil fuel to North Korea. The owner of a ship accused of smuggling oil to North Korea has denied such activity.
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