Moscow - Russian President Vladimir Putin has extended his profound condolences over the death of Total CEO Christophe de Margerie, the president's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
“Vladimir Putin had known de Margerie for a long time and had maintained close working contact with him. The president highly valued the business qualities of de Margerie, as well as his staunch commitment both to the cause of promoting bilateral Russian-French relations and their mutually beneficial diverse cooperation in general,” Peskov said.
Moscow also highly appreciates de Margerie’s contribution to the development of cultural dialogue, as well as his support for different cultural projects, he said.
Christophe de Margerie, the chief executive of French oil company Total, was killed when his Falcon plane collided with a snow-clearing machine at Moscow’s Vnukovo airport late on Oct. 20. The plane’s three crew members were also killed. A criminal inquiry has already been opened into the accident.
De Margerie, 63, had come to Russia to attend a session of the Russian Foreign Investment Consultative Council, which met with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev in Gorki, outside of Moscow, on Oct. 20.
Under de Margerie, Total acquired a stake in Russia’s largest independent natural gas producer Novatek and joined the Yamal LNG large-scale project.
