Vladimir Putin, in a closed-door meeting with business leaders, did not offer to make voluntary contributions to the war financing budget, Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. The Bell reported on the proposal on March 26. According to the publication, the idea of “destabilizing the business at a difficult time for the country” belongs to the head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, who outlined it in a letter to Putin.
Peskov, in response to a request from journalists to comment on this information (quote from “Were you listening”), said:
It is not true that it came from Igor Sechin. It is not true what was said about “money.” It is not true that Putin made such a request.
According to Putin’s press secretary, one of the participants said during the meeting that he considered it necessary to give the state “a very large, large sum of money, and this was his family’s decision.” According to Peskov, this businessman pointed out that “the vast majority of participants in the meeting started their own businesses in the 1990s, and of course this beginning was linked in one way or another to the state.” “Many consider it their duty to make such contributions,” the Russian President’s press secretary said.
Peskov added: “This was not an initiative of President Putin, although of course the head of state welcomed such an initiative.”
Putin’s press secretary did not mention the name of the businessman who deemed it necessary to donate a “very large sum” to the budget. He added: “For this reason, the meeting was closed, so that no details could be given.”
Putin’s closed meeting with businessmen was held at the conclusion of the conference of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Businessmen.
The Bell newspaper wrote that Suleiman Kerimov promised to transfer 100 billion rubles to the budget. According to the post, several other businessmen also reported their willingness to make contributions.