Comment of the Embassy on an article called ‘From Russia but never with love’

(The Times of Malta on Sunday, May 19, 2019)

To quote from another James Bond movie title – never say never.

It is a pity that the author, instead of calmly analyzing and reassessing his strategies after seemingly unsuccessful personal ‘retail’ dealings, chose to spill out his disappointment by penning a piece filled with Russophobic stereotypes, preposterous claims and outright scaremongering. In a desperate attempt to prove his point he even resorted to far-fetched allegations along the lines of the ‘highly likely’ approach (Skripal case, ‘Russian meddling’, campaign in Syria, etc.).

The grim picture painted in the article is a far cry from the reality and presents a distorted view of Russia.

Let us provide some facts and figures for those who are interested in the real state of the economy in our country.

Despite all the pressure experienced in the past years, including through illegitimate sanctions, the Russian economy continues to develop steadily, growing by 2.3 per cent last year.

As has been repeatedly stated by the Russian leadership, we are doing everything we can, and will continue to do to make sure foreign investors feel as comfortable as possible in our country. A lot has been done already, which is reflected among other things in the World Bank’s Doing Business rating, where Russia climbed from the 120th to the 31st spot in just six years.

In Russia, foreign businesses are offered special investment contracts, which guarantee that tax and administrative terms will not change for the worse. Significant opportunities for foreign investors are opening up in connection with the implementation of strategic national projects.

By the way, contrary to the author’s panic-stricken statements, the Russian gas producer Gazprom doubled its annual net profits in 2018 while its shares recently rallied to their highest since 2012.

As for the businessmen mentioned in the article, they were either found guilty of or charged with serious economic, and in some cases even criminal offences in accordance with the law.

So our advice to those considering doing business with Russia would be to look for objective information rather than scare stories, prejudiced assessments and personal grudges.

Russia remains open for business.