Renault suspends production in Russia

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French automaker Renault stated on Wednesday that it was suspending operations at its Moscow plant and investigating alternatives for selling its majority ownership in the Russia-based AvtoVAZ conglomerate.

The action comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky specifically referenced the corporation in an address to French parliamentarians, urging them to back Kiev.

Earlier in the day, Zelensky delivered a video-link message to the French parliament, demanding that French firms "quit the Russian market" and stop funding what he referred to as the "Russian war machine." He explicitly mentioned Renault as one of the instances.

Dmitry Kuleba, the Ukrainian foreign minister called for the boycotting of Renault and accused it of supporting a war "of aggression in Europe."

Hours later, Renault announced the suspension of operations and said it was considering ways to sell its stake in Russia's largest automaker AvtoVAZ.

Renault now controls about 67 percent of AvtoVAZ, having purchased interests from Nissan in 2017 and General Motors in 2019. The corporation had temporarily halted operations at its Moscow factory at the start of the operation but has subsequently resumed manufacturing.

Another French firm mentioned by Zelensky, home improvement chain Adeo, stated that it would not terminate its operations in Russia to avoid a deliberate bankruptcy and allow its assets to be confiscated by Russia. At the outset of the crisis, the firm claimed it had "suspended new investments" in Russia.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked foreign companies that did not pull out of Russia, "despite brazen pressure from the US and its vassals."

Western countries have been imposing sanctions on anything and everything Russian, from oil and gas sales to even Russian-bred cats and classes on Russian writers, sparking comments of rampant Russophobia in the West.

Read more: Washington wants political points on Russophobia: Russia Embassy in US

In a poll conducted in March with 5,000 Russian participants, 26% of Russians were seen to believe that businesses that have left the country will take from 3 to 5 years to return while 40% believed that the departing companies will be back within one year, according to Synergy University research reported by TASS.

The Russian military operation in Ukraine is proceeding in accordance with previously set goals, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.