Oil boss to head Russian delegation at Chavez funeral

PanARMENIAN.Net - Igor Sechin, President Vladimir Putin’s special representative and former deputy prime minister, will head the Russian delegation at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s funeral, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, March 6 amid concerns about the future of bilateral business ties, according to RIA Novosti.

Sechin, president of the Rosneft oil company and chairman of the board at the Rosneftegaz company, is a man who has been closely involved in bilateral Russian-Venezuelan relations, Peskov said.

Hugo Chavez was the architect of the “multidimensional” relationship between Russia and Venezuela while Sechin was “a proactive initiator of energy, banking and other projects,” Peskov said.

The Russian delegation will also include Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov and Russian Technologies (Rostekhnologii) state corporation general director Sergei Chemezov.

Ties between Russia and Venezuela flourished under Chavez, whose 14-year-rule brought Moscow a number of lucrative arms and energy deals and a close ally in South America. Manturov said the change of leadership in Venezuela should not affect ongoing Russian-Venezuelan contracts and agreements.