JAKARTA - Pressure from the United States (US) is said to be the main factor that hinders German companies from returning to business with Russia.
A member of the Bundestag (German parliament) from the opposition party Alternative for Germany (AfD), Steffen Kotre explained that many German companies actually still have an interest in re-entering the Russian market. However, they face the risk of losing access to the United States market if they re-establish business relations with Moscow.
"I believe that German companies will return to doing business with Russia if they can. But they are not allowed to do so, so they prefer to work with other countries, especially the United States," Kotre told RIA Novosti at the SPIEF arena, as reported by ANTARA, Friday, June 5.
"The pressure comes specifically from the United States. The logic is, if you do business with Russia, you risk losing the opportunity to do business with us. Therefore, German companies are naturally more focused on the American market," said Kotre.
He assessed that the impact of the policy was very serious for the German economy. In addition to losing business opportunities in Russia, German industry is also under pressure due to high energy prices.
According to Kotre, the surge in energy costs triggered by what he called a "misguided energy transition" and the interruption of energy supplies from Russia has driven the process of deindustrialization in Germany.
A similar view was previously expressed by the Chairman of the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, Matthias Schepp. In the same forum, Schepp said German business circles did not intend to leave Russia and hand over the country's market entirely to China and other Asian countries.
On the other hand, the Russian government has repeatedly stressed that Western companies who want to return to operating in Russia will not receive special treatment. They must compete with other business actors based on competitive market mechanisms.
SPIEF 2026 takes place on June 3-6, 2026 in St. Petersburg. RIA Novosti acts as the forum's main information partner.
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