The meeting in the week of Sept. 10 in Berlin to finalize metal supply agreements for 2019 will see European customers avoiding deals with Russia's United Co. Rusal PLC, which is still under U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported Sept. 6, citing three sources familiar with the discussions.
The sources disagreed with the expectation that the sanctions will be lifted in October, adding that they "can't agree a deal with Rusal."
"Anyone that has a relationship with Rusal will be preparing for the sanctions to remain in place for now," a Rusal customer in Europe said.
In early August, the U.S. Treasury Department extended the deadline for trading with sanctioned Russian companies Rusal, En+ Group PLC and Gaz Group to Oct. 23 from Aug. 5.
According to previous reports, Russia's central bank and finance ministry are considering establishing a special trading platform for listing the securities of companies hit by Western sanctions.