Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, asked about the possible return of Exxon Mobil to Russia, said on Wednesday that the U.S. energy major was not the only company keen to return to the country.
“Believe me, there is more than one corporation that is interested in reincarnating its presence on the Russian market,” Peskov told RBC radio.
Many Western companies, including Exxon, said they would pull out of Russia within days of Moscow sending its troops to Ukraine in February 2022, as governments around the world condemned the move and began imposing sanctions.
Two sources familiar with the talks said on Tuesday that Exxon Mobil and Russian state-run energy giant Rosneft had signed a non-binding initial agreement to help Exxon recoup a $4.6 billion writedown it made on its Russian activities in 2022. Exxon declined to comment.
The agreement marks a tentative step towards repairing commercial relations between the U.S. and Russia, although little further progress is likely until Moscow makes enough progress towards a peace deal in Ukraine and both the U.S. and the European Union relax sanctions.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tone on Russia also appeared to harden in comments on Tuesday.
President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, has said Russia would welcome back companies that left the country due to, what he called, political pressure.
Last month, he signed a decree that could allow foreign investors, including Exxon Mobil, to regain shares in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov Anastasia Lyrchikova. Writing by Vladimir Soldatkin. Editing by Mark Trevelyan and Mark Potter)