The Russian President, Vladimir Putinaffirmed this Friday that Moscow can manage the assets of foreign companies that are ceasing operations in Russia or leaving the country in response to the invasion of Ukraine.
“We are not going to close ourselves off to anyone, we are open to working with all our foreign partners who wish to do so. The rights of foreign investors and colleagues who remain in Russia and work in Russia must be reliably protected,” the Russian president said at a meeting with members of the government, according to Russian agencies.
“I ask the Government not to lose sight of this, before those who are going to close their production plants, here we must act decisively… Thus, as the President of the Government has suggested, it will be necessary to introduce external management and then transfer these companies to those who want to work. There are enough legal instruments, market instruments,” she added.
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America’s response
The United States indicated that Russia will be harmed if it seizes the assets of foreign companies that are leaving the country; and warned that could expose you to lawsuits from those companies.
“Any illegal decision by Russia to seize the assets of these companies will ultimately result in even more economic pain for Russia. It will underscore a clear message to the global business community that Russia is not a safe place to invest and do business”; White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki stressed.
In addition, he added that such measures “could also prompt legal action from companies whose properties are seized.”
“We support US companies that are making tough decisions about the future of their operations on Russian soil,” the spokeswoman said.
Psaki concluded that the decision to stay or not in Russia should correspond solely to each company, but that the White House “welcomes” announcements of companies leaving the country as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With information from EFE