Alexander Novak: Western Companies Can Return Only If It Is Beneficial for Russia
Western oil and gas companies can return only if it is beneficial to Russia, if they bring something new to the industry and do not harm Russian companies. This was stated to journalists by Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak on the sidelines of the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP).
“It depends, as President [of Russia Vladimir Putin] said, on expediency. It depends on what they can bring, and not to the detriment of our companies,“ he said.
Novak noted that it is too early to discuss the mechanism for the return of Western oil and gas companies to Russia, as sanctions are still in effect.
“I think it’s too early to talk about it. Sanctions are currently in effect,“ the Deputy Prime Minister added.
President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said that there would be no privileges and preferences for returning Western companies – for those whose niches were occupied, “the train has left.“
He stressed that Russian business has learned how to work in the face of sanctions from the collective West and has managed to launch alternative cooperation mechanisms with those foreign partners who want to work with the Russian Federation.
