According to CEO Yves Claude, leaving this market would be acceptable “in the economic level, but not from the human viewpoint.”

We are taking a stand on Russia and we think in a period of harsh inflation to help protect people and employees´ purchasing power, 40% of them shareholders, Mr. Claude said in statements to the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.

The West´s pressure is presently ramping up on companies that continue doing business in Russia, following Russia´s military operation in Ukraine on February 24, wielding Kiev’s aggressiveness towards the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People´s Republics.

In a videoconference speech to French senators and deputies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for a boycott against Russia, and mentioned Auchan Retail among French companies that still do business in Russia, accusing them of being Moscow´s accomplices.

It´s too easy to criticize us, but we are there and we act for the civilian population, said Mr. Claude.

The West and some allies are trying to stifle the Eurasian country by imposing sanctions, freezing its assets, among other measures.

Moscow insists that its claims for security guarantees were brushed off, starting with the use of Ukraine to expand NATO even further into Eastern Europe, heightening the military blockade on Russia.

ef/pll/mem/wmr