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* Rosneft's shares sharply down
* Company says to stick to dividend, strategy
* Says sufficient liquidity to service debts (Adds detail, quotes, share price)
MOSCOW, July 18 (Reuters) - Top Russian oil producer Rosneft said it would continue to work on existing projectsand agreements and honour its obligations despite U.S. sanctionsslapped on the company over Moscow's role in the Ukraine crisis.
The United States earlier this week imposed new sanctions onRussian companies including Rosneft. Its shares fell by over 4percent on Thursday and were down a further 1.5 percent bymidday on Friday.
"Rosneft is a public company traded on Russian andinternational exchanges. Therefore, the sanctions inflict damageupon the company shareholders, including U.S. citizens andresidents," the company said in a statement on Friday.
It has a number of joint projects with international majors,including Exxon Mobil and Statoil, to tapArctic offshore riches and hard-to-recover oil in Russia.
Rosneft, in which BP holds a 19.75 percent stake,also said it has sufficient liquidity to service its debts andthat its financial position allows it to deliver on the keyindicators of its strategy and dividend policy.
"The company is currently in the process of a legal reviewof the announced sanctions and is consulting its internationalpartners," Rosneft said.
Analysts have been concerned about Rosneft's ability toattract funds as costs of borrowing have risen for Russiancompanies after Moscow annexed the Crimean peninsula fromUkraine in March.
The Kremlin-controlled company, headed by Igor Sechin, along-standing ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said thesanctions were "illegitimate and groundless" as it has "noinfluence on either political or economic processes ongoing inUkraine".
Rosneft also is in the process of acquiring Morgan Stanley's oil trading division. Morgan Stanley said it did notbelieve new U.S. sanctions on Rosneft would affect the pendingdeal between the two companies. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jane Baird)
