Russia’s Rosneft says former German chancellor Schroeder has resigned from the board of directors

The logo of the Russian oil company Rosneft in its office in Moscow, October 18, 2012. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

May 20 (Reuters) – Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft (ROSN.MM) He said on Friday that former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and German businessman Matthias Warnig had told her that they could not continue to serve on the board of directors.

“We sympathize with their decisions and thank them for their continued support,” Rosneft said in the statement.

The European Parliament on Thursday urged that Schroeder be blacklisted if he does not leave the Rosneft board of directors, in a move also aimed at dissuading him from taking a senior position at Gazprom. (GAZP.MM). Read more

Schroeder, who served as chancellor from 1998 to 2005, came under heavy public criticism for retaining his lucrative board position with Rosneft, which he had held since 2017.

Germany this week closed its taxpayer-funded office amid anger over its continued involvement in Russia’s energy industry and refusal to condemn President Vladimir Putin, whom he considers a personal friend, over Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Six sources told Reuters that the departure of Schroeder and Warnig follows the departure of five other foreign deputies to the head of Rosneft. They left days before new EU sanctions against Ukraine came into effect on May 15. read more

Reporting by Reuters. Editing by Mark Trevelyan

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