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Join on Telegram Rabat – Russian billionaire and businessman Vladimir Potanin has said that Nornickel– Russia’s leading metals and mining company– is keen on building closer ties with Morocco amid Western sanctions on Russia.
The billionaire made the statement in an interview on Russia’s RBC television on Monday, January 23, reported news outlet Reuters.
The effects of US sanctions, according to Potanin, “do not directly affect the life of the company [Nornickel], its survival, but it certainly limits its capabilities, including financial ones, and development of those markets in which it has traditionally been present.”
The Russian oligarch argued that the “completely destructive” sanctions had an impact on his company’s “logistic chains, payment systems, and ability to purchase new equipment.”
He added that his company Nornickel– the world’s largest producer of nickel and palladium– will shift its investment strategy to Russia and friendlier countries as its previous expansion plans have been disrupted.
“Naturally, we find ways out of this situation. We are restructuring logistics chains to more friendly countries. First of all, to China, Turkey, Morocco and other Arab countries,” he told Russia’s RBC television as quoted by Reuters.
Forbes estimated Potanin has a net worth of $27.6 billion and owns about 33% of Norilsk Nickel, making him the second richest person in Russia.
Potanin served as Deputy Prime Minister during Boris Yeltsin’s presidency.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US Department of State imposed sanctions on Potanin in December 2022, along with other entities related to the “Russian Federation’s financial services sector.”
The US sanctions reportedly blocked Potanin’s financial transactions, his conglomerate company Interros, and his superyacht, Nirvana.
Potanin’s wife and two adult children also received sanctions.
Explaining the reasons behind the sanctions, the White House argued on its official website, that “the US and other 30 partners worldwide imposed unprecedented sanctions and export controls to hold President Putin accountable for his war against Ukraine, and restrict Russia’s access to critical technology needed to fund its war machine.”
Morocco has maintained a neutral stance in the Russia-Ukraine war, maintaining good economic and diplomatic ties with both countries.
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