Nuland: Sanctions pain depends on Kremlin actions

Sanctions targeting the Russian energy sector will be rolled back once the Kremlin addresses its obligations in Ukraine, a U.S. State Department official said.

The U.S. and European governments have imposed punitive sanctions on Russian energy companies Rosneft, Gazprom Neft and others in response to the crisis in Ukraine. The Russian Central Bank this week said sanctions were getting in the way of efforts to control inflation in the country.

Victoria Nuland, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, told an audience at the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington sanctions "can and will" be rolled back provided Russia respects Ukraine's sovereignty and pulls heavy weapons from the region.

"It is in Russia's hands when that day comes," she said in her Thursday address.

Exports of crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas account for nearly 70 of all Russian export revenues in 2013.

A World Bank report on Russia says its export-based economy is vulnerable to geopolitical tensions.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine in the aftermath of a political upheaval in November that saw Kiev move closer to the European Union.