It was announced on Friday that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is stepping down as chairman of Rosneft’s board. Former European politicians working for Russian companies have recently come under increasing pressure to give up their mandates.
Kneissl posted a screenshot of a report by French news agency AFP on Twitter, which she spoke to last Friday. She had told the agency that she was appointed to Rosneft’s board of directors in March 2021 and confirmed in June of the same year. In March of this year (after the outbreak of war in Ukraine, mind you) she refused to resign, “because it’s not my style to abandon ship in the middle of a storm.” At the same time, she informed Rosneft that she was no longer available for another term. “The press articles saying that I live on millions of euros are false and add up to a series of systematic slanders,” she told the agency. According to Kneissl, she lives as a “political refugee” in Provence, according to earlier statements, because as an expert on politics and energy in Austria she has a “de facto ban on working” because of her closeness to Putin.
Rosneft itself reported on Monday in a broadcast Kneissl’s resignation statement, which took effect on May 20, 2022, that is, last Friday. In the document in question, Kneissl also rejected the extension of his term as a member of the Supervisory Board.
“In connection with the statement, the company (Rosneft, note) would like to thank you for working together over the past ten months, characterized by a difficult pandemic and an international environment,” the broadcast said. In the future, Rosneft will collaborate with Kneissl as an important representative of the international community of experts, the group announced.
Kneissl was appointed by the FPÖ as Minister of Foreign Affairs in December 2017. His personal ties to Russian President Putin are noted for his appearance at their 2018 wedding in Styria. The government had to leave her as a result of the vote of no confidence in the government shortly after the Ibiza case in May 2019. The former foreign minister now works, among other things, as a regular columnist for Russian broadcaster RT, which is affiliated with the State.
In a resolution on Thursday, the European Parliament called for sanctions against former politicians who continue to work for Russian companies. Schröder and Kneissl were also cited in the text. Previously, other former politicians such as former Chancellor Wolfgang Bowl (ÖVP) and Christian Kern (SPÖ) in Austria had given up their positions on the supervisory boards of Russian companies following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. Bowl worked for the Lukoil oil company, Kern for the Russian state railway RZD.