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EBRD won’t halt operations in Russia despite Western sanctions — president

Russia is the bank’s seventh-biggest shareholder
Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development  EPA/KELD NAVNTOFT
Suma Chakrabarti, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
© EPA/KELD NAVNTOFT

LONDON, April 28. /TASS/. President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said EBRD won’t cease operations in Russia even as sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine leave new financing on hold, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

"We have no intention of exiting Russia we have a very large portfolio to manage," Chakrabarti said. "Since July 2014 we’ve not been able to progress with new projects, but we have more than 200 existing projects which we have to manage," he added.

The EBRD invested €1.8 bln in Russia in 2013, the most of any country that year, and about €25 billion between 1991 and 2013.

The EBRD is owned by 65 countries, though dominated by those in North America and Europe. Russia is the bank’s seventh-biggest shareholder.