MOSCOW –
Russia’s Foreign Ministry on November 11 defended the federal government’s unilateral resolution to put the native subsidiary of Japan Tobacco (JT) underneath the administration of a Russian firm, describing the transfer as a countermeasure in opposition to what it referred to as Japan’s “blatantly hostile actions.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova mentioned the choice was meant to “minimize the negative impact” of financial sanctions imposed by Japan in opposition to Russia.
Zakharova additionally argued that the measure was proportionate to Japan’s sanctions, rejecting criticism of Moscow’s resolution to switch management of the Japanese firm’s native operations to a Russian entity.