Vladimir Putin has ordered his cabinet to prepare for the return of western companies, a sign of a potential corporate renaissance from the unfolding US-Russia rapprochement. Russia’s president said on Friday he wanted Russian companies to have “certain advantages” over “those that return to our market” as payback for western sanctions.

Russia needs a regulatory mechanism for Western companies that seek to return to the country so that Russian firms do not lose their competitive edge, President Vladimir Putinsaid Friday. “We can regulate the return to our market of those who want to return accordingly [by] creating an advantage for our own manufacturers,