Le Figaro Actualités1 hour agoBusiness1 min readFrance

Statements by Vladimir Putin on Western assets and criticism of Patrick Pouyanné on diesel

Quick Look

Vladimir Putin mentions the possible return of Western assets under conditions, while denouncing the freezing of Russian assets.
At the same time, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, opposes a ban on exports of American diesel.

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Why It Matters

European countries have frozen the assets of the Russian Central Bank in response to the conflict in Ukraine. The diesel market is the subject of political debates in the United States regarding exports.

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Vladimir Putin does not rule out the restitution of certain assets of Western companies in the event of a “favorable scenario”.

The Russian president also found it “completely unacceptable” that European countries had frozen the gold and foreign currency assets of the Russian Central Bank on their territories “to finance” Ukraine.

“It’s a bad idea”: Patrick Pouyanné criticizes the idea of banning American diesel exports, supported by Donald Trump.

If the ban were to occur, the CEO of TotalEnergies indicated that he “sees no other solution than to call on strategic reserves”, these emergency stocks of crude oil held by states.

Open Questions

What conditions define the favorable scenario for the restitution of assets?