MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. Western oil and gas companies can return to Russia only if it is beneficial to the country, if they bring something new to the industry and do not harm Russian companies, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters on the sidelines of the annual congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
"This depends, as the President [of Russia Vladimir Putin] said, on advisability, on what new they can bring, and that should not be to the detriment of our companies," he said.
Novak noted that it is too early to discuss the mechanism for the return of Western oil and gas companies to Russia, since sanctions are still in place.
"I think it is too early to talk about this. Sanctions are in place today," he said.