The Kremlin dismissed on Friday the idea of ousting Norilsk Nickel President Vladimir Potanin after a Russian lawmaker said he should go following an Arctic fuel spill late last month. Shares in Nornickel, the world’s leading nickel and palladium producer, have been hit since Russian President Vladimir Putin this week upbraided officials over what he said was a bungled state response after a leak of fuel into a river. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that he had not heard any speculation about the possible nationalisation of Nornickel and that there was nothing to comment on.
