Oil company BP announced that it will abandon Russia’s Rosneft

In a statement carried by AFP, the oil group specified that managing director Bernard Looney had resigned from Rosneft’s board of directors “with immediate effect” as did another director appointed by BP.

“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression with tragic consequences across the region,” said Helge Lund, president of BP.

According to the official, “BP has been operating in Russia for more than 30 years (…), but this military action represents a fundamental change,” which led “the BP board of directors to conclude, after a thorough process, that our participation in the state-owned Rosneft and could not Continuation “.

Like BP, Russian oil giant Rosneft is also listed in London. The presence among its shareholders in BP since 2013, which holds the second largest stake after the Russian state, has been regularly criticized in the UK.

After this withdrawal, BP indicated that the group will make a provision in its accounts for the first quarter of 2022, which will be published in May.

On Thursday, Russia launched a military attack in Ukraine, with ground forces and bombing targets in several cities, which has already caused the deaths of about 200 people, including civilians, and the injury of more than 1,100, on Ukrainian territory, according to Kyiv. The United Nations has reported the displacement of nearly 370,000 people to Poland, Hungary, Moldova and Romania.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the “special military operation” in Ukraine was aimed at disarming the neighboring country and that it was the only way for Russia to defend itself, with the Kremlin specifying that the offensive would continue as long as necessary.

The attack was generally condemned by the international community and led to emergency meetings of a number of governments, including the Portuguese, NATO, the European Union and the United Nations Security Council, agreeing to collective sanctions against Russia. .

EYC // PAL

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