Restoration of Russia-U.S. business relations will take time, but is achievable with political will - VTB head
MOSCOW. March 25 (Interfax) - The restoration of Russian-U.S. business relations will require time, but this issue can be resolved given the willingness of both countries' leaderships, VTB Bank CEO Andrei Kostin said in an interview with CNN.
"It's probably too early to make any predictions because we're at the very beginning of a rather lengthy process. After all, in recent years, relations between Russia and America have been largely destroyed. This means their restoration will take time. But I believe we're definitely seeing good - and sincere - intentions from President Trump, as well as his desire to help Russia resolve this issue and restore Russian-American relations. Where there's a will, there's a way," Kostin said.
Commenting on the return of Western companies, Kostin said this process "will now begin."
"Although Mr. Putin recently said this would come at a certain price, especially for companies that left Russia suddenly and damaged the Russian economy. I think the normalization process will take some time. But business is much less politicized. Business wants to do business. And I remember the relationships with American companies, with American banks. I believe step by step we'll be able to restore business relations if the countries' leaders, the politicians, make the right decisions," he said.
The financial sector should be shielded from political influence, he said.
"This has already significantly undermined trust and increased risks. And I believe it has weakened the dollar's position. Maybe it's too early to say, but I know many countries are thinking: 'If this happened to Russia, what if one day it happens to us?' This is what they're thinking in China and the Arab world. Therefore I believe sanctions should be applied with great caution. Perhaps we need to create a new legal framework to prevent such situations from recurring in the future. This is my personal opinion," he said.