"Big European and U.S. businesses are attempting to balance their business interests in Russia with increasing pressure from their home governments to isolate Moscow, as tensions between the West and Russia grow over Ukraine.
In Italy, top business executives held a videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, although some companies pulled out of the long-scheduled event following pressure from Italy's government.
In Washington, the American Petroleum Institute, the oil industry's lobby group, said it recognizes the role of sanctions as a foreign-policy tool, but asked policy makers to target any new sanctions on Russia carefully so as not to harm the competitiveness of U.S. companies.
Western sanctions against Russia since Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea have pushed many European companies to reduce their ties with Russia. But some big corporate names still have a large presence. Energy companies and commodities traders are among those most deeply involved in Russia, given the country's vast reserves of oil and gas.
Mr. Putin, in comments shown on Russian television, hailed Italy as one of Russia's leading economic partners. He said the value of trade between the two countries grew 53.8% in the first 11 months of last year. The volume of gas shipped to Italy by Russian state-owned gas giant PAO Gazprom also rose.
"We see serious prospects for expanding the Russian-Italian business partnership in other areas of the energy sector," Mr. Putin told the meeting.
Oil company Eni SpA, in which the Italian government owns a stake, was among those that pulled out at Rome's behest. Other big Italian companies, including tire maker Pirelli & C. SpA and pasta maker Barilla Group, took part and said the government hadn't lobbied them to withdraw.
The European Union has often struggled to agree on a unified response to Mr. Putin's aggressive moves in Eastern Europe. Many EU members are heavily dependent on Russian natural gas, especially in the winter months when demand for heating spikes, making it difficult for them to actively contest Moscow's moves.
The Biden administration said this week that it aims to increase supplies of gas and oil to Europe from the Middle East, North Africa and Asia to help make up an energy shortfall if Russia turns off the taps, but it isn't clear whether the plan can be instituted quickly or is a viable long-term strategy should tensions with Russia endure.
"Corporate interests are not driving European policy, but rather it's the energy-crisis angle," said Nathalie Tocci, the director of the Institute for International Affairs, a Rome-based think tank. "It's not about company X, Y or Z trying to get something done, but rather the overall energy relationship that Europe has with Russia."
Ms. Tocci added that "Putin clearly decided to act now when some European countries are particularly vulnerable to a cutoff of the gas supply."
However, Mr. Putin sees the corporate sector as a channel through which he can further soften Europe's political response, Ms. Tocci said. "He has calculated that companies of certain countries are particularly invested in Russia and he identified Italy as a potentially weak link," she said.
Western companies heavily exposed to Russia include privately held Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd., the biggest exporter of Russian oil among the clutch of major international commodity traders, according to people familiar with the matter. Vitol and Glencore PLC also are large exporters of Russian oil, industry insiders say. Russia is one of the world's biggest global oil producers, with a 12% market share, according to JPMorgan Chase.
BP PLC has a 20% stake in Rosneft Oil Co. Swiss-based commodities giant Glencore has a 10.6% stake in EN+ Group PLC, a holding company that owns aluminum company United Co. Rusal PLC." [1]
Probably, the pasta of the pasta maker Barilla Group is very good if the Russians are interested in it. It is necessary to buy the pasta for the Lithuanian government so that conservatives can hang the pasta on the ears of Lithuanian businessmen.
1. World News: Tensions Put Businesses in a Bind
Sylvers, Eric. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]. 27 Jan 2022: A.8.
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