The head of the state-controlled producer appeared to be taunting the US administration in the wake of sanctions slapped on him by the Treasury Department over the continuing crisis in Ukraine.
"As Charles Maurice de Talleyrand used to say in such cases: 'Tout ce qui est excessif est insignificant'," he said, referencing the crafty 19th century French diplomat's apparent declaration that 'all that is excessive is insignificant'.
Sechin
