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(Adds Chevron no comment; Exxon, BP ties to Russia)
MINSK, April 29 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putinsaid on Tuesday that Moscow saw no need for counter sanctionsagainst the West, but could reconsider the participation ofWestern companies in its economy, including energy projects.
"We would very much wish not to resort to any measures inresponse. I hope we won't get to that point," he told reportersafter meeting with the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan.
"But if something like that continues, we will of coursehave to think about who is working in the key sectors of theRussian economy, including the energy sector, and how."
The United States on Monday unveiled a new round ofsanctions aimed at business leaders and companies close toPutin, while the European Union followed up on Tuesday by naming15 Russians and Ukrainians to its blacklist, moving to freezeassets and deny visas.
"Regarding the second package, it's not clear at all whatthis is linked to, because there is no cause and effect linkwith what is happening now in Ukraine and Russia," he said.
SIGNIFICANT TIES
Though some Western oil companies left Russia in recentyears because of a difficult business climate, U.S. companiesExxon Mobil and Chevron Corp, along with Britishmajor BP, have significant ties there.
Igor Sechin, the head of state-controlled Rosneft,was named in the latest U.S. sanctions, though not his company,in which BP holds an 18.5 percent stake.
In Russia, Exxon Mobil's net acreage holdings in Sakhalin atthe end of 2013 totaled 85,000 acres, all offshore, and its netacreage in the Rosneft joint venture agreements for the Kara andBlack Seas was 11.3 million acres. The two companies also have ajoint venture to evaluate the development of tight-oil reservesin western Siberia.
In the United States, Rosneft unit Neftegaz in March 2013bought a 30 percent stake in 20 deepwater exploration blocksheld by Exxon in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
Exxon Mobil declined to comment on Putin's latest commentson Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Chevron Corp owns a 15 percent stake inthe Caspian Pipeline Consortium, which transports crude oil fromKazakhstan through Russia to the Black Sea. The company alsosells lubricants in Russia used in engines for ships andagricultural equipment.
Chevron declined to comment on Putin's latest statements,but said it was monitoring the region closely.
Putin reiterated his accusations that the United States wasorchestrating the Ukraine crisis and urged Kiev and pro-Russiaprotesters to respect the Geneva agreements, reached on April 17and intended to defuse the crisis, and sit down at thenegotiation table.
The United States and European Union accuse Moscow oforchestrating an uprising of pro-Russian separatists insoutheastern Ukraine. The crisis has brought relations betweenthe West and Russia to their lowest since the end of the ColdWar. (Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya, Anna Driver and ErnestScheyder; Writing by Alexei Anishchuk; editing by G Crosse,Nigel Stephenson and Terry Wade)
