Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said Tuesday that she opposed the proposed transfer of the state's stake in Novorossiisk Commercial Sea Port to Rosneft, urging an open-market sale instead.
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin, who opposes plans to privatize state assets, wrote to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to propose that Rosneft take over the government's 20 percent stake in the port.
"We stand for privatizing the stake currently held by the government," Nabiullina told reporters. She declined to say whether Putin supported that position. The port handles about 25 percent of Russia's crude oil exports and operates its largest grain terminal.
(Reuters)
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