USA & RUSSIA: SANCTIONS HAVE NO IMPACT

Igor Sechin, head of Russia's leading oil company Rosneft, said on Thursday sanctions imposed by Washington on him over Russia's actions in Ukraine had failed to hinder his work with U.S. partners and did not affect him personally.

Saying he had no accounts or property in the United States, Sechin told reporters: "So they (the sanctions) have a theoretical character for me personally. We will continue to work and this has no impact on our work with American partners. We appreciate the cooperation."

Sechin also said Rosneft had not initiated a push to privatise a stake in the company, but would go along with it if the government so wished, hinting at his dissatisfaction at reports that Russia could sell 19.5 percent of the oil producer.

"First of all, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we do not comment on statements from federal officials ... but we are ready to fulfil any directive," he said in Russia's eastern city of Blagoveshensk.

reuters.com