MOSCOW, May 23. /TASS/. American multinational chain of coffeehouses Starbucks has decided to leave the Russian market.

"Starbucks has made the decision to exit and no longer have a brand presence in the market. We will continue to support the nearly 2,000 green apron partners in Russia, including pay for six months and assistance for partners to transition to new opportunities outside of Starbucks," the press release says.

On March 8, the company announced that it had suspended all business activity, including the supply of products, on the territory of Russia due to the events around Ukraine.

The first Starbucks coffeehouse opened in Moscow in 2007.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics, he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine, stressing that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories. Western countries responded to the actions of the Russian authorities by slapping sanctions on physical and legal entities.