Asked whether former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans had been offered the position of chairman in Russian state-owned oil major Rosneft, Putin said: "Any public company, and Rosneft is going to be public - you know it will hold an IPO - seeks to attract top- notch managers irrespective of their ethnic origin or nationality."
A leading Russian business daily reported Tuesday that Evans, a long-time ally of U.S. President George W. Bush, had been offered the position in a personal meeting with Putin in Moscow on December 7.
"Rosneft has a real opportunity to turn into a global [oil] company, and I am positive it will. Inviting top-notch foreign experts to work for it is possible," the president said.
Putin said this would make the Russian economy more open and Russian business entities more transparent, helping them advance their interests and benefiting the state at large.
Evans could become the second former senior foreign official to head a Russian energy company. Last week, former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder agreed to head the North European Gas Pipeline, a direct natural gas link between Russia and Germany.
According to a government official, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov discussed the idea of offering the top position to Schroeder with German Economy Minister Michael Glos at the pipeline opening ceremony.
Glos supported the idea and said the new chancellor, Angela Merkel, would approve it. The shareholders then approached Schroeder with the proposal, which he accepted, a government source said Friday.
