TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Oil company chief executive Igor Sechin followed in his master’s footsteps and claimed Taiwan will return to its “native harbor” of China in time.

The Rosneft boss was speaking at an economic forum in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, where he also fulsomely praised China's leadership.

"The position of (China's) leadership is highly respected, which calmly and openly, without false premises, sets out its positions even on the most difficult issues such as the problem of Taiwan, which in this regard can be assessed as somewhat exaggerated," Sechin was quoted as saying by Reuters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (Oct. 27) claimed Taiwan is part of China. Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) responded by clarifying the nation was “not subordinate to the autocratic People's Republic of China.”

MOFA replied to Sechin’s comments by saying "Neither our government, people, nor the international community can accept absurd remarks that are in China's cortege or demean Taiwan's sovereign status."

The 61-year-old Sechin is known as the “second most important person in Russia” and according to The Guardian, Rosneft “commands a central place in that economy.” The company's revenue was about 8.8 trillion rubles (US$143 billion) in 2021, and taxes on that would reportedly be enough to fund about 40% of the military budget on a yearly basis.

Sechin was sanctioned by the European Union in March and the official notice commented: “He is one of Vladimir Putin’s most trusted and closest advisers, as well as his personal friend … He has been in contact with the Russian president on a daily basis.”

Sechin has worked for Putin’s directly for decades and was made deputy head of his administration in 1999, later becoming deputy chief. He was prime minister in 2008 and four years later was named as Rosneft’s boss.