Russia moves to shield economy from ‘unfriendly’ states

Transactions with shares belonging to some foreign entities have been prohibited

Russia has introduced a range of measures to shield its financial and energy sectors from the actions of so-called “unfriendly” countries and organizations.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday that prohibits entities from those nations from carrying out transactions with their shares in Russian enterprises that are considered ‘strategic.’ The ban will remain in force until the end of the year and may be extended further.

Another ban applies to shares in Russian banks, the list of which will be prepared within the next ten days.

The decree also prohibited transactions related to foreign participation in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia’s Far East.

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On Wednesday, US oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil said it was “engaged in transitioning” its 30% stake in the Russian oil development project “to another party.”

Russia’s list of “unfriendly” countries stretches to 49 nations, including the US, the UK, all of the EU, Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Taiwan and others.

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