MOSCOW, February 8. /TASS/. Russia has always protected its citizens and companies, and therefore does not rule out any steps in case of possible nationalization of Rosneft assets in Germany, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
"For now, the company itself is protecting its interests. The state has always protected the interests of our companies, our citizens, and will continue to do so. We do not rule out anything to protect our interests and counter illegal steps," he said.
The possible nationalization of Rosneft's assets in Germany would be considered an expropriation of someone else's property and will have consequences for Berlin's reputation, Peskov added. "This is nothing more than the expropriation of someone else’s property," he said.
According to Peskov, such steps "undermine the economic legal foundations in European countries," "devalue the investment attractiveness of these countries", and "certainly have profound consequences" - legal, image, and "ultimately economic."
Earlier, the German Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Action informed Rosneft of its intention to nationalize Rosneft Deutschland, which is currently under external management. The department justified the action by claiming that the division's partners in Germany could refuse to work with the company's oil refineries, jeopardizing Germany's energy security.