Asked by Turkish journalists, who referred to the lifting of the US arms embargo on Cyprus if, after the latest developments, the US is considering to revise the lifting of the embargo, State Department spokesperson, Vedant Patel, said that there is no new policy to announce on this issue.

He noted that the sanctions announced by the US target individuals in multiple jurisdictions who are connected to a sanctions evasion network supporting Russia’s defense sector, including prominent arms dealer Igor Vladimirovich Zimenkov.

Moreover, he noted that the sanctions were also taken in part of the US commitment to Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force, a multilateral effort to identify and seize the assets of Russian proxies around the world.

“It has become increasingly difficult for Russia’s military-industrial complex to resupply the Kremlin’s war machine, forcing it to rely on nefarious suppliers such as the DPRK and Iran.” Patel said.