Russia privatises 19.5 percent of oil giant Rosneft: Kremlin

The Kremlin on Wednesday said that Russia had finalised a deal to privatise 19.5 percent of state-owned oil giant Rosneft, in the largest deal of its kind this year, as the country pushes to reduce its daunting debt mountain. Rosneft chief Igor Sechin informed President Vladimir Putin "about the completion of a privatisation deal of 19.5 percent of shares of the largest Russian oil company Rosneft," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.