US Companies in Russia Regularly Confirm Determination to Stay - Embassy

Minister-Counselor of the Russian Embassy in the United States Denis Gonchar said in anterview with Sputnik on Monday that American companies working in Russia regularly confirm that they are not going to leave the country despite difficulties in the Moscow-Washington relations.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US companies currently doing business in Russia regularly affirm that they are planning to stay in the country, Minister-Counselor of the Russian Embassy in the United States Denis Gonchar told Sputnik.

"Despite the difficulties, the bilateral trade between Russia and the United States is ongoing. The entrepreneurs have closed mutually beneficial contracts," Gonchar said. "American companies regularly confirm to us that they are not going to leave Russia. Their activities have never stopped, they are just often not widely covered."

At the end of April, Gonchar noted, Forbes said JP Morgan Chase and Goldman Sachs became the top two and top three leading investment banks in Russia. And since the beginning of the year, he added, American banks have joined some major deals, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, who took part in the initial offering of shares of Children's World (Detskiy Mir).

"We launched about ten projects last year which involve American businesses. Many of them are in the medical sphere and concern the localization of the production of drugs in Russia," Gonchar said. "Thus, the company Veropharm, owned by Abbott Laboratories, opened two enterprises for the production of medicines in Belgorod (cytotoxic drugs and nasal drops) and in the village of Volginsky in the Vladimir region (antitumor drugs for chemotherapy)."

The Minister-Counselor added that US global pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer and Russian pharmaceutical company NovaMedica signed a strategic partnership agreement, including the construction of a manufacturing plant in the Vorsino industrial park for production of more than 30 vital medicinal products and the work of joint technical laboratories in Moscow.

Moreover, Pfizer launched production of three medicines at St. Petersburg’s NTFF Polysan — for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, an anti-infective drug for hospital-acquired infections, and the reduction of cholesterol levels.

"Medtronic together with Renova are beginning the production of stents within the framework of joint venture Stenteks at the innovation center SKOLKOVO," Gonchar said.

Gonchar also pointed out that there are joint projects in the high-tech sector.

"United Technologies' Hamilton Standard launched the construction of the second stage of the complex for the production of heat exchangers for the air-conditioning systems of Boeing 767, 777, and 787 in Kimry, Tver region," he explained. "Kemin Industries launched a plant in Lipetsk for the production of feed additives – to support the development of our livestock."

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that US businesses continues to work in Russia and Moscow is always ready to "welcome," more companies from the United States to develop their business in the country.

Russia's relations with the United States suffered a crisis after the beginning of a conflict in Ukraine in 2014.

The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions against Russia over Moscow's alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict, a claim Russia has repeatedly denied.