Lithuania To Deny Compensation If Assets Of Businesses Nationalized In Russia - Minister

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2022) Lithuania will not pay compensation to Lithuanian businesses if their enterprises in Russia end up nationalized, as their risk was deliberate and should not be borne by taxpayers, Lithuanian Minister of Economy and Innovation Ausrine Armonaite said.

"If you choose to do business there, in Russia, you choose the risk that one day... your property will be nationalized. Then, excuse me, but Lithuanian taxpayers probably don't have to pay for it," Armonaite told the Lithuanian National Radio and Television on Saturday.

According to the broadcaster, the Lithuanian government has urged businesspeople to reduce their activities in Russia, but it also has the "problem" of not knowing for sure how many and what kind of Lithuanian businesses operate in Russia.

On Thursday, Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said that she did not exclude the possibility of Vilnius nationalizing the Lifosa phosphate fertilizers production plant, whose accounts were frozen due to anti-Russian sanctions.

On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine, responding to calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In response, Western countries imposed comprehensive sanctions against Russia, prompting many foreign companies to suspend or downsize operations in Russia.