ANKARA 

Oil giant Shell said on Friday it will halt operations of fuel stations in Russia as it withdraws from the country over the Ukraine war. 

“We can confirm the ongoing negotiations on the sale of Shell Neft, which owns a retail network and lubricants plant which is located in Torzhok,” the company said in a statement.

“Our key priority is safety of our people and operations, maintaining employment and compliance with the Russian legislation.”

Operations of Shell’s retail sites, as well as the lubricants plant, will be temporarily suspended in the coming days “to facilitate the sale of Shell Neft to a new owner,” Sergey Starodubtsev, chief of Shell Russia, said in a separate statement on the company’s website.​​​​​​​