Austrian Foreign Minister: 91% of Western companies remain in Russia

More than 90% of Western companies remain in Russia, they have taken a wait-and-see attitude. About it informed Austrian Minister for European and Foreign Affairs Alexander Schallenberg in an interview with Reuters.

“Let’s be honest. 91% of Western companies are still in Russia and doing what is reasonable: they wait, contain risks, protect assets,” he said.

Commenting on the work of an Austrian bank Raiffeisen in Russia, Schallenberg pointed to other Western financial institutions that still remain in Russia, including Bank of America. The minister noted that Austrian companies must comply with the rules of the country, part of which is compliance with EU sanctions.

At the same time, Schallenberg said he did not support the introduction of new restrictions. According to him, we need to focus on complying with existing bans and “give them time to act.” The minister also called the adoption of new sanctions “a senseless weapon.”

Reuters, citing informed sources, writes that some unnamed Austrian officials hope for an early end to hostilities in Ukraine and a return to “more normal” relations with Russia.

At the end of February, Reuters reportedthat the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury asked Raiffeisen to “clarify the business and related processes supported by Raiffeisen in light of recent developments related to Russia and Ukraine.” The bank noted that they are cooperating with OFAC and that they have “mechanisms to comply with sanctions.”

Later the Austrian Ministry of Finance named the U.S. Sanctions Authority’s investigation into Raiffeisen is a “normal process”. They added that this is not a concern in Vienna.

After the start of Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, the United States, Great Britain, EU countries and several other states imposed large-scale sanctions against the Russian Federation, which affected many sectors of the economy, including energy, high-tech sector, aviation, banking, mining, automotive, etc. After that a number of foreign companies suspended their activities in Russia, and some announced their withdrawal from the Russian market.