European companies eye return to Russian market, envoy says

Many European companies are signaling a desire to return to the Russian market, according to Kirill Dmitriev, Russia’s presidential envoy for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries and head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

In an interview with Berliner Zeitung, Dmitriev said Moscow has been receiving indications from numerous European businesses interested in regaining access to the Russian market.

“We are actually receiving signals from many European countries that they want access to the Russian market,” he noted.

“I think ‘fatigue’ is a good description of the situation from the perspective of companies in Europe, because they had very successful business operations in Russia,” Dmitriev added, noting that many firms experienced a 30–40% decline in trade turnover after leaving the Russian market.

According to Dmitriev, several companies continue to do business in Russia but do not publicly disclose it.

“But I think people are ready to resume business, especially in light of the economic crisis following the Iranian conflict. I think energy will become an important topic,” he stressed.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov