© Alexi NikolskyRussian President Vladimir Putin says that it will be difficult for Western companies to come back to Russian markets as their refusal to cooperate with Russia under sanctions would seriously damage their reputation.
"It is obvious that the decline in mutual confidence is bound to have a negative impact on both the international business climate in general and on the operation of European and American companies in Russia, bearing in mind that such companies will find it difficult to recover from reputational damage," Putin said in an interview with Serbian newspaper Politika ahead of his visit to Belgrade, scheduled for October 16.
The president also said US sanctions against Russia's financial sector would blemish the reputation of the US banking system as a reliable investment partner.
"In addition, it will make other countries think carefully whether it is wise to invest their funds in the American banking system and increase their dependence on economic cooperation with the United States," Putin noted.
The European Union, the United States and their allies have imposed several rounds of sanctions against Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, a claim Moscow has repeatedly denied.
The restrictive measures target major Russian oil and defense companies as well as financial institutions.
Amid the restrictions, the Russian government has been working on developing an import substitution program to help companies affected by the sanctions to find alternatives to Western imports.
Russia has also been strengthening cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries, particularly China. On Monday, Moscow and Beijing signed a number of intergovernmental agreements on gas deliveries, satellite systems and bank financing.
The companies do not even speak up against the stupid policies of their governments. And most of their employees are too pacified and complacent to support Russia in the medias. Putin said in this interview with the Serbian newspaper Politika: [Link]
"Politika: In your opinion, what is the ultimate objective of the sanctions against Russia, imposed by the EU and the United States? How long will they last, in your view, and how much harm can they do to Russia?
Vladimir Putin: This question should be addressed to the EU and the United States, whose reasoning is hard to understand. Any unbiased person knows that it was not Russia who staged the coup d’état in Ukraine, which led to the grave internal political crisis and a split in society. An unconstitutional seizure of power was the starting point for the subsequent events, including the ones in Crimea. The people of Crimea, seeing the complexity and unpredictability of the situation and in order to protect their rights to their native language, culture and history, decided to hold a referendum in full compliance with the UN Charter, as a result of which the peninsula re-joined Russia.
Our partners should be well aware that attempts to put pressure on Russia with unilateral and illegitimate restrictive measures will not bring about a settlement, but rather impede the dialogue. How can we talk about de-escalation in Ukraine while the decisions on new sanctions are introduced almost simultaneously with the agreements on the peace process? If the main goal is to isolate our country, it’s an absurd and illusory goal. It is obviously impossible to achieve it but the economic health of Europe and the world can be seriously undermined." It seems that EU/US have become economic suicide bombers.