Austrian Business Not Leaving Russian Market, Investment Growing Despite Sanctions- Lavrov

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 12th March, 2019) Austrian businessmen are not leaving the Russian market and mutual investments keep growing despite Western sanctions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

"Despite well-known circumstances, including the so-called sanctions, Austrian entrepreneurs are not leaving the Russian market and mutual investments continue to grow," Lavrov told a press conference after talks with his Austrian counterpart, Karin Kneissl.

According to Lavrov, Austria remains an important economic partner of Russia.

"We have welcomed the stable growth of mutual trade, which grew by over 42 percent approaching the figure of $6 billion last year," the minister added.

In 2014, relations between Russia and the West deteriorated over the former's alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and Crimea's reunification with Russia following a referendum. The United States and the European Union have since imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia's energy, banking, defense and other sectors, as well as on a number of Russian officials. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and reacted with countermeasures against the Western nations that targeted it with sanctions.