MOSCOW, March 29. /TASS/. The current geopolitical situation won’t affect the inflow of foreign investments to Russia, Deputy head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) Andrei Tsyganov told reporters on Thursday.
"Unfavorable geopolitical situation is unfavorable political situation but business is business," he said.
According to him, the recent events on the international arena have not complicated the dialogue between Schlumberger and the Russian authorities on the acquisition of a stake in Eurasia Drilling Company.
Earlier on Thursday, Tsyganov said that his agency and Schlumberger agreed on the basic terms of the EDC deal.
"In general, we believe that the deal is ready to be submitted to the government commission. The decision of the commission may be preliminary, perhaps final," he said.
FAS received Schlumberger's request to buy a 51% stake in EDC in early February. The company announced plans to enter EDC capital in the summer of 2017, and this is Schlumberger's second attempt to become a shareholder in the largest Russian drilling company, which accounts for 20% of the domestic drilling market (excluding contracts).
Russia’s relations with Western countries have worsened after the poisoning of Russian ex-intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in London on March 4.
British Prime Minister Theresa May said the substance used in the attack had been a Novichok-class nerve agent developed in the Soviet Union. On March 14, she accused Russia of an "unlawful use of force" against the United Kingdom and announced that London would expel 23 Russian diplomats and take other restrictive measures. Russian retaliate and expelled same number of British diplomats. Most of the EU countries as well as the US, Canada and Australia showed solidarity with London and expelled more than 100 Russian diplomats.