EBRD boosts overall investments in 2014 despite freeze in Russia projects
MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) boosted overall investments to 8.9 billion euro in 2014 despite EU sanctions barring new investments in Russian projects, the bank said in a statement.
The EBRD invested a total of 8.5 billion euro in 2013.
Russia had been the largest recipient of EBRD funds over the last several years, but EBRD investments in Russian projects fell threefold in 2014 to 600 million euro compared with 2013.
"Turkey, where the EBRD has been active for only five years, became the largest individual recipient of EBRD financing. Investments rose to 1.4 billion euro from 920 million euro in the previous year," the statement says.
The EBRD stopped investing in Russia in July of last year. The majority of EBRD board members, including EU member states and a number of non-EU countries, announced that they would not be able to maintain investment projects inside Russia.
The freeze on new projects in Russia is part of a plan approved by EU leaders on July 16 to place political and economic pressure on Russia following events in Ukraine.
