Over 300 US companies still operating in Russia despite sanctions, says presidential adviser

VLADIVOSTOK, September 4. /TASS/. More than 300 US companies continue to do business in Russia, despite Washington’s ban, and have no plans of leaving the Russian market, Presidential Adviser and the Eastern Economic Forum Organizing Committee Executive Secretary Anton Kobyakov told TASS in an interview on the sidelines of the EEF.

"Over 300 US companies remain on our markets," Kobyakov said. "300 US companies are working on the [Russian] market when the US authorities directly prohibit them to do so or discourage them from doing so."

In his words, Western investors have kept their contacts with Russia, and some of them continue working with Moscow even now.

"No one wants to leave. Everyone understands the value of such communication channels, understand their own business interests," he said, adding that some European companies have already been "backed into a corner by their own governments in an attempt to prevent them from working with us."

According to Kobyakov, the Russian government is creating no obstacles for those who decided to stay with Russia because in this case they are being treated on equal footing with Russian companies and viewed as Russian economic operators.