Russian companies have complained about discrimination on European markets and energy giant Gazprom was on the verge of being banned from taking over Britain's largest gas-distribution company, Centrica, by British legislators in spring.
"It must be parity investment - 50 by 50 [%], or 25 by 25," said presidential aide Igor Shuvalov.
Shuvalov, who is also the country's sherpa to the Group of Eight industrialized nations, said that only companies with under 50% of foreign capital would be allowed to develop Russia's strategic deposits. He added that Gazprom or any other Russian company was not seeking a 100% stake in foreign assets either.
"We do not see that the governments and businesses in G8 countries are ready open up their markets for Russian companies to invest," he said, adding that lack of trust would only make the situation worse.
"We must first reach a political agreement and create conditions for ... mutual investment and mutual dependence," he said, adding that this was the concept of Russia's current presidency in the G8.
Shuvalov said legislators might some day lift the restrictions on foreign shares in Russia's strategic assets.
"If the political conditions are favorable ... then legislators will realize that the law has to be amended respectively... to encourage mutual investment," he said.
Russia's Deputy Industry and Energy Minister Andrei Dementyev told an annual investors' conference in Moscow Monday that the country's fuel and energy sector needed about $260-300 billion in investment, the gas sector $170-200 billion and the oil industry $230-240 billion by 2010, and that Russia had created an investment-friendly environment.
"Investment in Russia has long ceased to be something exotic," Dementyev said, adding that the lifting of the ring fence around Gazprom's common stock late last year and the decision by state-run oil corporation Rosneft to make an initial public offering had sent strong signals to investors worldwide.
However, Shuvalov said earlier Tuesday that Russia's internal political situation did not allow foreign companies to enjoy unlimited access to strategic mineral deposits yet. He said that the deposits had to be opened up gradually so that "left-wing parties do not say that we sold the entire country."
