Putin promises tough road back for Western businesses that 'slammed door defiantly' on Russia

By Dmitry Antonov and Darya Korsunskaya

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Western companies that "slammed the door defiantly" when they left Russia will not be allowed to buy back the businesses they quit for small amounts of money or fill niches that local businesses have taken, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.

Hundreds of Western firms have exited Russia since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Companies have taken different approaches with some selling up, others handing the keys to existing managers or, in some cases, abandoning the assets altogether.

Some, such as Renault, McDonald's and Henkel, agreed buy-back options when exiting, although the terms of such deals have largely been kept under wraps.

Putin, speaking at a Moscow business forum, said he had asked the government to keep an eye on Western companies that might have buy-back deals to ensure that every case was carefully considered if such deals were activated.

Putin said he respected businesses that had continued to work with Russia, but held a different view for those that had "slammed the door defiantly" when exiting.

Companies that left under domestic political pressure and sold their assets at a throwaway price should not be allowed to repurchase for the same small sum, Putin said.

"If the niche of a Western company is already filled by a Russian business, then...as we say, the train has left," Putin said.

He also cautioned Russian business that Western sanctions on Russian individuals and businesses, totalling 28,595 according to a finance ministry tally, were not temporary and that even if they were eased other obstacles to doing business would be thrown up.

"We should not hope for complete freedom of trade, payments and capital flows," Putin said. "Nor should we count on Western mechanisms for defending the rights of investors and entrepreneurs.

"Our competitors will always want to weaken and contain us," Putin said. "Even if one side makes a gesture and offers to lift or ease something, another method of causing problems for us will be found immediately."

(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov in Moscow and Darya Korsunskaya in London; Writing by Alexander Marrow; Editing by Andrew Osborn)