(Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday said the United States was not seeking to put Russian metals giant Rusal <0486.HK> out of business by hitting it with sanctions, according to an interview with Bloomberg News.
"Our objective was not to put Rusal out of business and that's why we extended the license," Mnuchin said, according to the Bloomberg report. (https://bloom.bg/2JEpgXO)
Mnuchin added, however, that Rusal's majority owner Oleg Deripaska must reduce his stake to less than 50 percent.
The sanctions against Rusal were announced in April along with other against Russian businessmen, companies and government officials, striking at associates of President Vladimir Putin in one of Washington's most aggressive moves to punish Moscow for a range of activities, including alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
(Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru)
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Updated Date: May 01, 2018 05:05 AM