OIL giant BP has rubbished claims by the boss of Russian energy firm Rosneft that it was second-guessing its decision to pull out of the country after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Igor Sechin said BP still remained its largest private shareholder despite announcing its departure from a three-decade partnership with the Russian company.

“All these actions speak of a desire to remain an active participant in the Rosneft company and to wait out the disadvantageous geopolitical situation without real losses,” he claimed.

But a BP spokesperson told City A.M. last night that the firm was continuing the process of divesting its shareholding.

The firm has written down the value of its Rosneft shareholdings and interests to zero earlier this year, taking a $25.5bn (£20.8bn) balance sheet hit.

BP-nominated directors Bernard Looney and Bob Dudley have both also resigned from Rosneft’s board.