Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has stated that companies which "slammed the door defiantly" and left the Russian market will not be allowed to buy back their assets at low prices or reclaim their former market positions.

Source: Reuters

Details: "If the niche of a Western company is already filled by a Russian business, then … as we say, the train has left," Putin emphasised at a business forum in Moscow.

He instructed the government to monitor potential buyback deals and carefully scrutinise each case. Some companies, including Renault, McDonald's and Henkel, had negotiated such options when exiting the market, but details of these agreements remain unknown.

Putin also warned Russian businesses that sanctions against Russian companies and individuals are not temporary.

"We should not hope for complete freedom of trade, payments and capital flows," he said, adding that even if restrictions were eased, the West would find other ways to create difficulties.

Background:

• Russian business representatives met with Robert Agee, the President and CEO of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, to discuss the lifting of sanctions in certain sectors of the economy. 
• Trump’s special envoy Richard Grenell held closed-door talks in Switzerland on the possible supply of Russian gas to Germany via Nord Stream 2.
• The United States and Russia are discussing the possibility of economic cooperation in the Arctic, including natural resource exploration and the use of new trade routes.
• Vladimir Putin ordered his Cabinet of Ministers to prepare for the return of Western companies to the Russian market.

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