Telenor’s legal battle is damaging
- From what we can tell, this issue is indeed damaging the image of Russia as a recipient of foreign investment, a Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman says the day before Støre and Lavrov meets in Moscow.
Reuters report that the Telenor-issue will be on the agenda when Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Tuesday is meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Norwegian telecompany Telenor, 54 percent state-own, has claimed Russian companies are trying to steal its near 30 percent stake in Russia’s second-largest mobile operator VimpelCom with the help of illegal court proceedings in Siberia.
Speaking anonymously to Reuters the Norwegian Foreign Ministry spokesman said “It’s an important issue. Minister Støre will bring it up” (…) “From what we can tell, this issue is indeed damaging the image of Russia as a recipient of foreign investment,” the spokesman said.
Last week, BarentsObserver reported that analysts said that Telenor’s conflict with Russia’s Alfa Group over control in the VimpelCom company is a test for Russian foreign investment credibility.
