Western retail chains will be allowed into Russia if they agree to work in new regions

If they wish to return to Russia, foreign retail chains must be present in all Russian regions, including new ones. Such a condition was put forward by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov on February 23.

"We have the territory of the Russian Federation unified in terms of rules and approaches, so when placing their units, they should keep in mind that there should be no lacunas," he told VGTRK journalist Pavel Zarubin. The excerpt is published in his Telegram channel.

As for the return of foreign automakers to the Russian market, Manturov believes that it will not be so easy for them to win it.

"If we are talking about the car industry, I can immediately say that the situation here is very ambiguous, and it will not be possible to just take and return the way we just took and left. First of all, we have a good memory, and we will not make such decisions so easily," Manturov noted.

Speaking about the return to the Russian market of foreign aircraft, in this case the authorities will seek a compromise, with the priority that domestic airlines in the first place purchased Russian aircraft as they are certified.

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Prior to that, on February 22, Russian Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov warned that the requirements for foreign companies on localization, investment and technology will be different if they return to Russia. He specified that all decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis, taking into account both Russian business and consumers.

Earlier, on February 19, analysts of the Kokoc Group platform predicted a massive return of foreign companies to Russia: in 2025, 350 foreign brands may re-enter the country's market.

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on February 20 that foreign companies will be able to return to the country only on favorable conditions. He also noted that many niches are already occupied by Russian manufacturers or partners from friendly countries.