Moscow, April 7 : The Levi Strauss clothing company said that it was unlikely to resume its work in Russia in the near future. A month ago, the company suspended its activities in Russia over the latter’s military operation in Ukraine. “The way things are going now, I’m not optimistic we’ll be back in business in full force any time soon,” Levi’s CEO Chip Bergh told The Financial Times. He stressed that the company was still paying salaries to more than 800 employees in Russia. According to Bergh, the conditions in Russia for foreign companies were difficult, with the authorities being able to nationalize the operation of foreign businesses. “They could literally take our trademark,” he added. Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine on February 24 to support the people’s republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. The Western countries have strongly condemned the Russian military operation in Ukraine calling it an invasion and imposed harsh sanctions on Moscow. XC GNK
