MOSCOW, April 30. /ITAR-TASS/. The president of Russia’s Rosneft oil company Igor Sechin considers his blacklisting among other officials over events in Ukraine as a high mark to the efficiency of his company’s activity.

“Whatever is excessive is insignificant, as French politician Charles Maurice de Talleyrand used to say in such cases,” Sechin told the Izvestia daily. “What are the motives the US authorities are guided by? We understand it this way: the American administration paid attention to Rosneft activity towards the reduction of risks connected with one-sided orientation of our hydrocarbon exports at certain regional markets. I qualify the latest moves by Washington as the highest marks to the efficiency of our activity,” he said.

“We assure our shareholders and partners, including American ones, that this efficiency will not decrease and our co-operation will not only stay undamaged, but will develop dynamically,” Sechin told the newspaper.

On April 28, the United States announced new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine. The recent measures concern seven officials, including two members of President Putin’s inner circle, who will be subject to an asset freeze and a US visa ban, and 17 companies linked to Putin’s inner circle, which will be subject to an asset freeze.

The sanctions have involved Oleg Belaventsev, presidential envoy to the Crimean Federal District; Sergei Chemezov, head of Rostec state corporation; Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak; Yevgeny Murov, head of the Federal Protective Service; Alexei Pushkov, a lawmaker; Igor Sechin; and Vyacheslav Volodin, first deputy head of the presidential administration.

The US Department of Commerce has imposed additional restrictions on 13 of those companies by imposing a license requirement with a presumption of denial for the export, re-export or other foreign transfer of US-origin items to the companies.