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Kremlin shrugs off ‘irrelevant’ speculations on Rosneft share buyback from Qatari fund

Peskov says such speculative arguments are "impractical and irrelevant"

MOSCOW, June 7. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not commenting on a possible buyback of Rosneft shares from the sovereign fund of Qatar, which had participated in the privatization of Russia’s oil major.

"Such speculative arguments are impractical and irrelevant," Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov replied to a question on whether Russia could possibly buy back Rosneft's shares due to the quagmire surrounding Qatar.

On June 5 Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates said they were breaking off diplomatic relations with Qatar for allegedly supporting terrorism.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier citing its own sources that the deal regarding Glencore and QIA consortium purchasing a 19.5% stake in Rosneft includes a possibility of Russia buying back the company’s shares over the next 10 years.

State-owned Rosneftegaz is the main shareholder of the company (50% plus one share), British BP owns 19.75%. In December 2016, privatization deal on selling a 19.5% stake in Rosneft was completed by the buyer - consortium of Swiss oil trader Glencore and Qatar Investment Authority.