MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On Wednesday, Swiss commodities-trading firm Glencore announced a plan with Qatar’s Investment Authority to acquire a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft.
"The hostile efforts to punish Rosneft and their senior management team through Western sanctions have primarily hurt Western companies, rather than their intended target. This week’s innovative transaction underscores these constraints, as many other potential strategic investment partners were excluded," Page said.
On Thursday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said that the US Department of the Treasury would investigate whether the sale of stock in Rosneft violated sanctions against Moscow.
President Vladimir Putin described the $11 billion deal as the biggest in energy markets this year but stressed that the Russian government would retain its controlling stake in the company.
