Putin says services like Microsoft and Zoom should be 'strangled' in Russia

MOSCOW/ISTANBUL

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday said that foreign service providers like Microsoft and Zoom, which have announced their departure from Russia, but have not completely left and continue to make profits, should be “strangled."

Putin met with representatives of companies from various sectors in the capital Moscow and made evaluations on the economy.

Responding to a comment by a businessperson speaking at the meeting that services such as Microsoft and Zoom continue to make profits in Russia, Putin said: “We need to strangle them. I completely agree. I say this without any embarrassment, because they are trying to strangle us. We need to reciprocate."

He emphasized that Russian users should also get rid of Western services that contain “bad habits."

Putin also pointed out that US companies continue to provide medical equipment shipments and services to Russia, while European companies do not do so.

Speaking about McDonald's, which left the Russian market with the start of the Ukrainian war, Putin said: "They put everyone in a difficult position, ran away, and now, if they want to come back, should we pave the way for them? Of course not."

He said that the Russian economy has risen to fourth place in the world in terms of purchasing parity, adding: “The Russian economy is growing at an outstanding pace in challenging conditions, such as 4.1% in 2023 and 4.3% last year. This is a good indicator.”

Putin stated that this growth is spread across various fields such as industry, agriculture, digital technologies, services and finance instead of limited sectors.

Noting that the Russian business world has faced difficulties in the fields of international payments, logistics and supply chain in recent years, he said: “While many Western companies withdrew from the Russian market due to political pressures, some companies left their Russian partners in a difficult situation.”

Emphasizing that all “deficits” that pave the way for the use of imported products instead of domestic production must be closed, Putin said: “Otherwise, we will have no domestic products left.”