95% of Western companies still operating in Russia: Austrian FM
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Austria's FM reveals that most Western companies still operate in Russia, despite sanctions and restrictions.
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Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg speaks during a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Federal Chancellery, in Vienna, Austria, Friday March 15, 2024. (AP)
Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg revealed that the majority of Western companies continue operating as usual in Russia, despite the choice of many to exit Russian markets since the start of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
According to Schallenberg, Austrian companies remained "heavily engaged" in both Moscow and Kiev. "And yes, Austrian companies were also present in Russia and are partly still present, as about 95% of all Western companies," the minister said on Friday during a joint presser with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Vienna.
He added that restrictions placed on Russia, however, should be "fully respected" with no exceptions.
During the conference, the Austrian minister addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin and called him out for using Russian oil supplies as leverage against the West. In this context, Schallenberg added that Austria is mobilizing toward being fully independent of Russian energy supplies by 2027.
Read more: EU figures Russia sanctions are backfiring: Modern Diplomacy
'Side by side'?
On US-Austrian relations, the minister said both nations must remain collaborative and "stand side by side" in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
This comes after the United States revealed that it will warn Europe's last major bank in Russia from continuing to do business with Moscow, Reuters reported last week, as Washington pushes for tighter sanctions on Russia after all previous measures proved to be inadequate to weaken the country's economy as desired.
Austria's Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) is one of the few international banks that did not cease its operations with Russia and continues to operate inside the country following the start of the conflict in February 2022.
Anna Morris, a US Treasury official responsible for disrupting financial access of actors deemed by Washington as a "national security threat," will push Austrian banks to examine their exposure to Russia and "take mitigation measures".
The treasury official will convey the US' new sanctions oversight and authority that "heightened risks for banks," and request they "protect themselves from trade related to Russia's military-industrial base, or risk being cut off from the US financial system," the US embassy in Vienna stated.
Foreign businesses still operate in Russia
In October, the Financial Times reported that Russian authorities had implemented a prohibition on foreign companies withdrawing their profits from the nation in response to sanctions imposed by Western nations.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin Press Secretary, refrained from directly confirming the report at that time. However, he acknowledged the existence of what he termed a "special regime" for Western companies leaving the country due to pressure from their respective governments, citing the ongoing "quasi-war" waged by the US and EU against Russia.
Following the outbreak of conflict between Moscow and Kiev in 2022, prominent companies such as Apple, IKEA, Microsoft, IBM, Shell, McDonald's, Volkswagen, Porsche, Toyota, and H&M were among the first to cease operations in Russia. Nonetheless, many foreign businesses chose to remain, with some transitioning to Russian ownership or undergoing rebranding.
Read more: Al Mayadeen info: EU to exempt companies from anti-Russia sanctions
