Vladimir putin urges country to get back its capital from abroad

Vladimir Putin has called on the government and entrepreneurs to create favourable conditions for the return of Russian capital from abroad.

Addressing the 4th session of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Wednesday, the Russian president said: "From the economic point of view, it would be better if entrepreneurs and the government decided which was the best way to return the money invested in offshore business." "There is no use in grabbing everyone's sleeve and asking them where they got this money when the state has failed to create normal conditions for investment," he observed.

He said Western economies possessed substantial means "of Russian origin" that they did not want to give back.

"You'll lose your breath if you start rushing from one court to another trying to unfreeze these means," he said, adding that the world community was engrossed in an effort to restrict the use of the means invested in offshores.

He also urged entrepreneurs to get together and reflect on how to get Russian money back from abroad.