Argentine business interested in cooperation with Russia despite sanctions

Argentine business is interested in further cooperation with Moscow, despite sanctions imposed by the West following Ukraine war, Russian Ambassador to Buenos Aires Dmitry Feoktistov said.

"Russian and Argentine companies are still interested in further cooperation especially since there are strong foundations for that. But there is now a transition period, I would say, which is due to the sanctions against Russia, concerns about secondary sanctions from the US ... a period when the Argentine business is in limbo, not understanding how to build relations [with Russian colleagues]," the ambassador told reporters.

The envoy also said that the work of the Russian-Argentine business council had resumed, uniting businessmen from Argentina seeking to continue working with Russia under new circumstances.

Russia, in turn, could also be interested in various projects in Argentina, including tenders in nuclear energy announced by Buenos Aires, the head of the Russian diplomatic mission added.

"Literally this week, Argentina announced two international tenders. The first one is on modernization of Atucha Nuclear Power Plant, and the second one is on the construction of a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel. The latter is estimated at several hundred million dollars," Feoktistov stated.

These projects could be interesting for Russian state nuclear corporation Rosatom, considering its big international experience, according to the ambassador.

Russia and Argentina have an intergovernmental agreement on peaceful nuclear cooperation, particularly in such areas as fundamental and applied research, design, construction, operation, and the decommissioning of nuclear power plants.