Russia will be hurt if it seizes assets of companies that leave, US says

The United States said Russia would be hurt if it seized the assets of foreign companies that are leaving the country, warning that it could expose itself to lawsuits from those companies.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki reacted in a series of tweets to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that Russia can manage the assets of foreign companies that are ceasing operations in the country or abandoning it in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

“Any illegal decision by Russia to seize the assets of these companies will ultimately result in even more economic pain for Russia. It will underscore the clear message to the global business community that Russia is not a safe place to invest and do business”, he stressed.

He added that such moves by Russia “could also prompt legal action from companies whose properties are seized.”

“We support American companies that are making tough decisions about the future of their operations in Russia,” the spokeswoman said.

Psaki said that the decision to stay or not in Russia should be left solely to each company, but that the White House “welcomes” the announcements of companies leaving the country as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The spokeswoman echoed the statements of Vladimir Potanin, a Russian metal tycoon, who according to The New York Times said Thursday that this type of nationalization would make the country “go back 100 years, to 1917”, when it occurred. the Russian Revolution.

In a meeting with members of his government collected by Russian agencies, Putin asked “to act decisively against” those who are going to close their production plants.

“We will have to introduce external management and then transfer these companies to those who want to work,” stressed the Russian leader, who believed that “there are enough legal instruments, market instruments.”

The president was thus responding to the exit or cessation of operations in Russia of hundreds of foreign goods and services companies from multiple sectors since the beginning of the offensive against Ukraine on February 24.

The investment bank Goldman Sachs announced Thursday its suspension of activities in Russia, and became the first large Wall Street bank to announce this measure.

On Wednesday, the most emblematic brands of the United States and the culture of capitalism, such as Coca Cola, McDonald’s or Starbucks, announced almost in unison that they were suspending their operations in that country.

Also, in recent days the big technology companies -Google, Meta (Facebook), Apple or YouTube have interrupted their services in Russian territory, as have the international payment companies Visa and Mastercard, the multinational furniture company Ikea or the Nestle food.