Russia has blamed an American media outlet for spreading 'fake news' claiming that Moscow plans to nationalize western companies. Reports about western businesses being threatened by Russian prosecutors were not true, claimed the Russian Embassy in the US.
The embassy cited a report published by The Wall Street Journal which claimed that Russian prosecutors had issued warnings to western companies in Russia, threatening to arrest corporate leaders there who criticize the government or to seize assets of companies that withdraw from the country, reported RT news.
The US-based newspaper cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter and also stated that Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble (P&G), and KFC were just a few of the companies that had allegedly been threatened.
Publishing a picture of fake news stamp over the report, Russia's US embassy rejected the allegations on Sunday urging media to abandon the practice of fake news.
"Once again, we urge local media to abandon the vicious practice of spreading fake news. The Wall Street Journal opus is pure fiction," said the embassy.
Ignore the Russophobic Hysteria
It also underlined that even in the most difficult situation, US commercial interests in the capacious Russian market are not infringed in any way.
Moscow has maintained that it is up to the American companies to continue their business in Russia and it urged the companies to ignore the Russophobic hysteria that encourages foreign businesses to suffer huge losses to hit Russia.
Nationalizing Western Companies
Russia's Public Consumer Initiative (OPI), a consumer protection group, and the ruling United Russia party had proposed the idea of nationalizing the Western companies which pull out of the Russian market. But President Vladimir Putin has so far not considered the request.
There was "no formed position on this matter" and that "all sorts of scenarios" were "being considered" by the government, said a Kremlin spokesperson last week.
