Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 18, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Putin advises Russian businesses not to expect fully free trade even if Western sanctions ease, as competitors will continue to pose challenges.
MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin told Russian business leaders on Tuesday not to count on fully free trade or movement of capital being restored in the event of Western sanctions on Russia being eased.
"Our competitors will always want to weaken and contain us," Putin told a meeting with Russian businessmen.
"Even if one side will make a gesture and offer to lift or ease something another method of causing problems for us will be found immediately," said Putin.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
The main topic is Putin's warning to Russian businesses about ongoing trade limitations despite potential easing of Western sanctions.
Putin stated that even if sanctions are eased, trade and capital movement may not be fully restored due to ongoing competitive pressures.
Competitors may continue to find new ways to weaken and contain Russia economically, even if some sanctions are lifted.
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