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Strategies & Market Trends : Asia Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Thomas Haegin who wrote (1830)	2/4/1998 11:01:00 AM
From: Thomas Haegin	Respond to of 9980

Repost: Malaysia gives mixed signals on US sanctions Reuters Story - February 04, 1998 08:58 ÿÿÿ KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Malaysia on Wednesday sent out mixed signals on threatened U.S. sanctions over a $2 billion Iran gas deal. ÿÿÿ Prime Minister Mahathir said U.S. sanctions would be acceptable if they were imposed on all three foreign firms involved in the investment. ÿÿÿ But Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said any sanctions would be unacceptable. ÿÿÿ The State Department has been reviewing whether the deal by Malaysia's Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) , France's Total SAÿ and Russia's Gazpromÿ in an Iranian gas field violates U.S. law that seeks to punish firms that invest more than $20 million in Iran or Libya. ÿÿÿ The State Department said on Tuesday that it had not yet decided whether to impose sanctions on the firms. ÿÿÿ "If they (United States) apply it equally to everyone, we have no problem," Mahathir told a news conference in the Malaysian capital. ÿÿÿ But Anwar rejected U.S. sanctions. ÿÿÿ "I think it would be very unfortunate if the United States pursue that sort of policy. I think it is completely unacceptable because to my mind it is something not consistent with their policy," Anwar told Reuters in an interview. ÿÿÿ Anwar, who is also finance minister, said U.S. firms had dealt with corrupt regimes and repressive dictators, and he expressed hope that Washington would show understanding over the gas deal. ÿÿÿ "They have been dealing with the most corrupt and decadent of regimes, including the most repressive dictators in the past. We purely involve ourselves in investments and trade, and even then jointly with other countries," he said. ÿÿÿ Anwar said he had suggested that Washington show "understanding" over the issue and added: "And I believe the administration, the U.S. administration has been somewhat more understanding towards our predicament." ÿÿÿ Russian natural gas monopoly Gazprom said on Wednesday that it would go ahead with the deal to tap gas reserves in Iran despite the threat of U.S. sanctions. ÿÿÿ "We will take part in the South Pars project, because it does not break any laws -- Russian, Iranian or French," said Gazprom spokesman Dmitry Dankin. ÿÿÿ If the deal is found to be covered by the law, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright can impose sanctions immediately, waive sanctions for reasons of national security or enter into consultations with the relevant foreign government to resolve the issue. -----End------------