MOSCOW, December 26. /TASS/. The question of the duration of the capital amnesty in Russia has not been resolved yet, but the priority is to set up a comfortable environment in Russia for bringing capital back to the country, which could be under threat overseas because of sanctions, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters commenting on President Vladimir Putin’s proposals on capital repatriation.

"There are no details yet, this is an initiative, it is to be formalized and implemented," the Kremlin spokesman said when asked for how long the capital amnesty program could be extended.

He refrained from providing any estimates on the amounts that can be repatriated as part of the amnesty program. "It is not worth making any forecasts here," Peskov asserted. As for the statistics concerning the volume of funds returned earlier, the Kremlin spokesman suggested contacting the government or the Finance Ministry. "It does exist, but I cannot give it to you, it’s better to get in touch with the government," he said.

Commenting on capital repatriation to Russia in general, Peskov recalled that the Russian president had repeatedly mentioned cases when Western countries refused to adhere to the principles of sanctity of private property, including movable and immovable assets and financial resources. "Our entrepreneurs have repeatedly encountered attempts to encroach [on their funds], in an unjustified manner such as illegally freezing (them) among other things. All that is done under the guise of restrictive measures and sanctions. Of course, this insecure climate for foreign investment can raise anxiety for Russian businesses and Russian capital. So the president as the head of state put forward the initiative to create comfortable conditions here [in Russia] for businesses, if they want to take advantage of the opportunity and repatriate their capital to Russia, thus making themselves immune from the potential brutal non-market encroachments on their property," Peskov concluded.

Concerning the overall effort to improve the investment climate in Russia, Peskov noted "there is always room for improvement."