Russian oil giant Rosneft wants to ban Reuters in Russia
The Russian oil company Rosneft has accused the Reuters news agency of “lying and disseminating rumors in the interests of its clients".
Rosneft has published a statement on its website in response to Reuter’s article alleging that the company is helping the Venezuelan government to sell oil bypassing United States sanctions. According to Reuters, Rosneft is making money by buying discounted oil from the Venezuelan state-owned company PDVSA and then reselling it at full price.
Rosneft called this information "a blatant lie."
“We consider it necessary to turn to law enforcement agencies in order to prevent the pseudo-agency’s illegal activities in the Russian Federation territory,” announced the company’s press service.
"Reuters ceased operating as an information agency and media outlet. This structure systematically deals with the creation and distribution of targeted disinformation, legalization of rumors in the interests of its customers, inventing information to damage the Russian economy, Russian companies and the Russian state," said the company’s representatives.
The head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, is one of the people that are close to Vladimir Putin. In December 2018, the United Kingdom created a “blacklist” of Putin’s oligarchs, which included seven people, and one of them was Igor Sechin.