Lots of US companies asking to come back to Russia – Putin envoy

Moscow will prioritize joint ventures and domestic firms, Kirill Dmitriev has said

A large number of US firms that left Russia due to political pressure are asking to come back, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, Kirill Dmitriev, has said.

Many US and European companies pulled out of Russia after a wave of unprecedented sanctions imposed by the West in the wake of the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.

“We see a large number of requests from American companies, in the energy sector, in many other areas,” the investment banker told Russia 1 TV in a Sunday interview on the results of his recent visit to Washington.

Moscow gives priority to domestic businesses and joint ventures with foreign firms, added Dmitriev, who is also the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

“They can only come where Russia will welcome them because the priority is both for Russian companies and for joint partnerships with foreign companies,” he said.

“The focus on joint partnerships is the most correct focus in further movement with those American businesses that are truly interested in working in Russia.”

During the course of his talks with the US, he “discussed a large number of joint potential investment projects in rare earth metals, in the Arctic, and in the LNG sector,” Dmitriev said.

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He expressed “cautious optimism” about a further thaw in US-Russian relations, and said that new contacts are expected next week.

Some 150 American companies are still active in Russia, despite political pressure to leave, Dmitriev said.

The US companies that left will not find their return easy, as a number of their former market niches have been filled by Russian companies, the envoy told Reuters in February.