Former French Prime Minister François Fillon announced on Friday that he would resign from his Russian mandates on the boards of directors of the petrochemical giant Sibur and Zarubeshneft, a company specializing in hydrocarbons.
Faced with the Russian invasion in Ukraine, “I cannot continue my participation in the boards of Russian companies Zarubeshneft and Sibur”, said Mr. Fillon, indicating that he was making this decision with “sadness”, in a column to be published on Sunday in the Journal of Sunday (JDD). “Today, war is back in the heart of Europe. It’s a collective failure but in the hierarchy of responsibilities, Vladimir Putin is the only culprit for having started a conflict which could have, which should have been avoided. In foreign policy, you have to deal with realities. According to the interests of France and those of the security of the country”, he wrote to explain his choice.
At the end of June, the former Prime Minister had joined the board of directors of a Russian company, Zaroubejneft, specializing in the development and exploitation of hydrocarbon deposits, particularly abroad, owned by the State. Last December, he was appointed to the board of Sibur as an independent director. The group is notably controlled by Leonid Mikhelson, one of the richest men in Russia, and Gennady Timchenko, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin.
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