RUSSIA: Moscow says will ditch U.S. securities amid sanctions

 Russia will further decrease its holdings of U.S. securities in response to new sanctions against Moscow but has no plans to shut down U.S. companies in Russia, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on state TV on Sunday, RIA news agency reported. Washington said on Wednesday it would impose fresh sanctions by the end of August […]

 Russia will further decrease its holdings of U.S. securities in response to new sanctions against Moscow but has no plans to shut down U.S. companies in Russia, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on state TV on Sunday, RIA news agency reported.

Washington said on Wednesday it would impose fresh sanctions by the end of August after it determined that Moscow had used a nerve agent against a former Russian agent and his daughter in Britain, sending Russia’s rouble currency to a two-year low. 

Speaking on a weekly TV talk show, Siluanov said the new U.S. sanctions, some of which could restrict purchases of Russian government bonds, were “unpleasant but not fatal”. 

“We have lowered to the minimum level and will further decrease our investment in the U.S. economy, in the U.S. securities,” Siluanov said, shedding light on the nature of an unexpected drop in Russia’s holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds.