Putin urges business to launch operations in Crimea: 'Now they have NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF' 3.17.22

President Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting on the economic development of Crimea, ahead of the anniversary of its annexation.

"In particular, now they have all the conditions for large Russian business structures, which, frankly speaking, used to be afraid of any sanctions measures, now they have nothing to fear, now they can safely come, including, by the way, banks, to the peninsula and actively work in the region, expand their activities there, opening and mastering new niches of the market.

This also applies to the Crimean Peninsula, of course, and the city of Sevastopol.

"We will certainly support such business activity, including through the deployment of banking and financial services infrastructure.

"In this regard, one of our leading banking institutions with one hundred percent state participation – Promsvyazbank, which, in principle, is already present on the peninsula – should already start work in Crimea as soon and widely as possible.

It is necessary to introduce promising product lines, lend to agriculture, construction, tourism and other key industries for the region, open branches and branches here, and develop a retail network. This will indeed be a serious incentive for increasing business to expand cooperation with partners from other regions of the Russian Federation."