"If Rusal was to be sanctioned that would certainly cause pretty significant disruption in the aluminium market, because Rusal is a very big exporter of aluminium, particularly to Europe," Rio Tinto Chairman Simon Thompson told shareholders at the group's annual meeting in Australia.

"I actually think the impact on Rio Tinto would probably be positive, in the sense that the aluminium price would likely go up."

(Reporting by Sonali Paul; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)