The new head of Total to continue the course of cooperation with Moscow.

Patrick Pouyanne, the new head of Total, will inherit the course of Christophe de Margerie on cooperation with Moscow, Deutsche Welle reports citing insiders in the company.

Pouyanne needs some time to learn about his Russian partners as well as Margerie, nevertheless it is likely to continue the course of his predecessor in his relations with Moscow, Ian Reid, the BMO Capital Markets analyst in London, states. At the same time, the economic sanctions of the West towards Russia may have a negative impact on the investment activity of Total, the analyst added.

Christophe de Margerie always sharply criticized the imposition of sanctions, Pouyanne, according to Reed, will refrain from such statements, and hand over the interaction with the Russian authorities to Thierry Desmarest, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, who has a wide experience of cooperation with Moscow.