MOSCOW, September 8 (RIA Novosti) - Allocation of over $40 billion from Russia’s National Welfare Foundation for Rosneft oil giant could be reasonable, as the investment will be repaid, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in an interview to the Vedomosti newspaper, released Monday.
“This number only seems so impressive, but this is not [supposed to be repaid] within a year,” Medvedev said, answering a reporter’s question on whether Rosneft’s request for $40 billion is feasible.
“The company needs to keep up production, since Rosneft is a major contributor to the budget. In this regard, we have to help them by maintaining the investment level,” Medvedev explained, adding that the government is considering specific ways of aiding Rosneft.
Medvedev also stressed he had no doubt in return on the investment, considering Rosneft’s performance prospects in the mid- and long-run.
In August, Rosneft’s chief Igor Sechin requested the government to lend the company some $40 billion from the National Welfare Foundation due to the Western sanctions. Earlier, the United States introduced another wave of economic restrictions on Moscow over its stance in the Ukrainian conflict, seriously complicating Western funding for Rosneft and a number of other key Russian oil and gas companies.
