Sharjah24 – AFP: Berlin on Friday took control of the German operations of Russian oil firm Rosneft to secure energy supplies which have been disrupted after Moscow invaded Ukraine.
Rosneft's German subsidiaries, which account for about 12 percent of oil refining capacity in the country, were placed under trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency, the economy ministry said in a statement.
"The trust management will counter the threat to the security of energy supply," it said.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government "did not take this action lightly but it was inevitable" for the "protection of our country".
The seizures come as Germany is scrambling to wean itself off its dependence on Russian fossil fuels, while Moscow has stopped natural gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline.
The German government's move covers the companies Rosneft Deutschland GmbH (RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH (RNRM) and thereby their corresponding stakes in three refineries: PCK Schwedt, MiRo and Bayernoil.
In a statement Friday, Rosneft denounced the move as illegal and "a violation of all the basic principles of a market economy".
The company was examining all possible measures to protect its shareholders, including taking court action, it added.
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