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Putin told Russia's oligarchy lobby group that the return of those Western companies that "slammed the door" on Russia will not be easy or cheap. / bne IntelliNews
Putin tells Russia's oligarchs that the return of Western business will not be easy or cheap
Ben Aris in Berlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin told the country’s lead- ing oligarchs that Western companies that “slammed the door” on Russia when they left the country after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine will not be allowed to repurchase their assets cheaply or regain their former market positions.
Speaking at the annual Congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) in Moscow, he said that businesses would not be allowed to exercise option agreements with their partners to buy back com- panies. These agreements were widely signed as part of a raft of takeovers and MBOs.
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"If the niche of a Western company is already filled by a Russian business, then ... as we say, that train has left," Putin said.
Nevertheless, the climate is warming and the Kremlin has said it is open to restarting cooperation with interna- tional firms and the Russia market is open to them again thanks to the posi- tive attitude of the Trump administra- tion to restarting commercial ties with Russia.
The RSPP meeting was held on the same day as Putin held a 1.5-hour phone call with Trump where the two presidents explicitly talked about restarting busi- ness relations.
Trump and Putin share a "mutual inter- est in normalising relations” thanks to "the special responsibility of Russia and the United States for ensuring security and stability in the world," the Kremlin's statement reads, The Kyiv Independent reported.
"In this context, a wide range of areas in which our countries could establish interaction was considered. A number of ideas were discussed that are moving towards the development of mutually beneficial cooperation in the economy and energy sector."
"A future with an improved bilateral rela- tionship between the United States and Russia has huge upside," including "enor-