President Vladimir Putin has stated that Russia will not "roll out the red carpet" if McDonald's is to return to the Russian market, with mounting speculation that foreign businesses are set to reopen shop, a media report stated on Monday.
McDonald's exited Russia in 2022 following Western sanctions as a reaction to the war between Ukraine and Russia. The company sold its Russian business to a domestic investor who had been a franchisee since 2015 and operated 25 restaurants in Siberia.
These restaurants have operated under the new brand "Vkusno I Tochka," which means "Tasty and That's It" in Russian, since June 12, 2022.
In a Kremlin session with top business executives, Putin turned to Oleg Paroyev, the CEO of Vkusno I Tochka, and told him, "They (McDonald's) put all of us in a problematic situation, fled, and now, if they want to return, are we supposed to roll out the red carpet for them? Of course not." He supplemented that the government has been tasked with creating guidelines for businesses willing to return — "peacefully and without any aggression, considering that the most vital issue is to ensure the protection of our businesses' interests," as TASS reported.
Putin underscored the government's firm backing of Russian businessmen, saying, "There can't even be any doubts about this. Together with you, we will work through everything, think it through, down to the last detail. But only to our advantage." He further added that some other major companies from various industries have told him that foreign partners of theirs want to return to collaboration.
“I replied — let them come back but make sure it’s on your terms. If it is advantageous for you, let them return. If it works for you, go ahead, if not, we’ll make it so it does. That’s it,” Putin concluded.
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