Most Western firms stayed in Russia – Putin

Russia has never pressured foreign companies to leave the country amid Western sanctions and the vast majority have stayed, President Vladimir Putin stated on Wednesday at the Russia Calling! forum in Moscow.

Putin noted that despite political pressure from their governments, many companies from the US and Western Europe continue to operate in Russia.

“We never pressured anyone to leave our market,” Putin said. “Half of those firms continue to operate in the country as they did before [sanctions]. Some have transferred operations to local management under their control, and only about a quarter [of such firms] have left or are in the process of leaving the country’s economy,” he added.

According to the president, breaking with Russia has played a major role in the economic problems that the EU countries are currently facing. In particular, this is due to the loss of stable Russian energy supplies at reasonable prices, as well as the opportunity to sell their products and supply components to the Russian market, and to use logistics routes, he explained.

The EU also lost the opportunity to use its currency for settlements, which significantly cuts into profits in the bloc’s economy, Putin added.

“In particular, large companies [in the EU] are closing... others are suffering losses. Glass, chemical, fertilizer production, and agriculture are suffering serious losses because... they have lost the Russian market,” he pointed out.

Putin emphasized that Germany’s economy in particular has suffered the biggest blow due to sanctions imposed on Russia. “Entire enterprises are closing” due to the loss of Russian energy and raw materials, affecting the country’s most important sector of the economy – the automobile industry, according to the Russian president.

Putin said many Western countries have shown themselves as “unreliable partners,” pointing out that many businesses and entire industries in Russia faced serious challenges due to sanctions and the exit of foreign firms.

Despite this, “our doors are always open,” the president told attendees at the forum.