INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian officials have not received any applications from foreign businesses seeking to return to the country, a senior Russian Finance
told the business news outlet RBC, adding that many foreign companies remaining in Russia still plan to exit the market.According to
Chebeskov, four companies finalized plans to leave Russia in just the past week alone.However, he said, the number of applications to
withdraw from the Russian market has gradually decreased since early 2022, when President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of
Ukraine.Hundreds of Western companies have exited or scaled back operations in Russia since February 2022
In response, the Kremlin has imposed steep mandatory discounts and exit fees for companies seeking to leave the market.After United States
President Donald Trump took office in January and began pursuing direct talks with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine, Russian news outlets
launched a media blitz claiming that Western companies were clamoring to return to the country in anticipation of sanctions relief.Russian
officials have offered divergent ideas on how to manage a possible large-scale return of foreign businesses, but President Vladimir
Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, a major business lobby, promised Putin that it would finalize proposed regulations this
