MOSCOW, August 9. /TASS/. The Finnish energy holding Fortum is still intent on selling its assets in Russia after they were transferred to the Russian State Property Management Agency for temporary management, CEO Markus Rauramo told Reuters in an interview.

According to him, prior to the transfer of the stake to temporary management, the company was negotiating with a potential buyer for the Russian assets, described by Rauramo as "well-invested, profitable, efficient and the best that exists in Russia," the news agency said. The company and the prospective buyer presented their plans to the Russian government commission on control of foreign investments in Russia, the CEO said.

"We still hold legal ownership of the businesses, but we don’t get any information, dividends or loan paybacks from there," the chief executive said "We do still pursue their sale," he added.

On April 25, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree, whereby 83.73% of shares in the Unipro company held by Germany's Uniper and 98.23% of shares in the Fortum company held by the Fortum Group were put under the temporary control of the Russian State Property Management Agency. The measure was taken in response to unfriendly actions of certain countries against Russia.

The presidential decree on external management with respect to Unipro and Fortum stocks does not concern ownership rights and does not deprive the owners of their assets, the Russian State Property Management Agency said earlier.