Head of Adidas urged EU to improve relations with Russia
Adidas-Group CEO Kasper Rørsted said Europe should improve relations with Moscow. "The one who thinks that we are punishing Russia with sanctions is mistaken. In the West, jobs are also gone because of this, but politicians prefer to keep silent about such results," Rørsted said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, published on Saturday, January 6.
Rørsted stressed that he is not advocating for the European Union to lift sanctions against Russia. However, Rørsted believes that a solution should be found to ease tensions in relations with Moscow. "Ten years ago, Vladimir Putin said that we need a free market from Portugal to Russia. We should not approve of everything that President Putin does, but to grow closer with Russia is in Europe’s interests," he said.
Rørsted also stated that "it would be good to have allies" to solve the situation around North Korea and the problem of refugees from Africa.
Adidas does not have a large profit margin to maintain in Russia. Its business there accounts for less than 3% of the company’s total turnover. However, “tremendous people” work for the concern in the country, Rørsted believes. "Culturally, Russia is much closer to Europe than others."
Rørsted is confident that the World Cup that is to be held in Russia in 2018 will be a successful event and he trusts the organizational skills of the Russians. "They proved this when tested with the Confederation Cup," the entrepreneur stressed.