Putin, Emir of Qatar Mark Importance of Rosneft Stake Sale to Glencore, Qatar

The Russian president and the emir of Qatar discussed the recent agreement to buy 19.5 percent of Rosneft shares by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund and Swiss trader Glencore.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani stressed in a phone call the importance of the Rosneft stake sale to Glencore mining group and Qatar’s sovereign fund, the Kremlin said in a statement Tuesday.

"The main issues of the agenda have been discussed. The importance has been stressed of the recent agreement to buy 19.5% of Rosneft shares by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund and Swiss trader Glencore," the statement said.

Russian president and Emir of Qatar also agreed in a phone talk, initiated by Qatari side, to continue joint efforts aimed at expanding cooperation in political, economic, humanitarian spheres.

Russian energy giant Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin told Putin on December 7 that preparation for the privatization of 19.5 percent of the company's shares was over. On December 10 the transaction participants said the agreement was signed.

The buyer was a consortium of Swiss trader Glencore and Qatar's sovereign wealth fund (Qatar Investment Authority). The sum of the transaction amounted to 692 billion rubles, or 10.2 billion euros. The budget will as a result receive 710.8 billion rubles, or 10.5 billion euros. Completion of the transaction settlement is expected in mid-December.