俄罗斯已经展开了对数十家麦当劳餐厅调查，很大程度上像是针对西方关于乌克兰问题对其经济制裁的回应报复。


俄罗斯的食品安全监管机构称，麦当劳当前可能违反卫生规定，已关闭其在莫斯科四家店。

但商界许多声音表示，这是俄罗斯和西方就乌克兰问题恶化的反应，在乌克兰亲俄分裂势力仍在政府军作对。

在另一项行动中，维珍创始人理查德·布兰森爵士呼吁“和平解决”乌克兰危机，并由来自俄罗斯，乌克兰和西方其他商业和文化界主要人士联名签署了公开信。

联合利华首席执行官保罗·波尔曼，诺贝尔经济学奖得主穆罕默德·尤努斯，PayPal合作创始人马克斯和前eBay总裁杰夫·斯科尔加入理查德爵士的倡议活动，呼吁“以谈话形式，而不是武装冲突来解决问题”，双边要考虑到俄罗斯和西方之间的长期对峙对商贸的影响。

俄罗斯对麦当劳的举动引起来美国商界领袖惊慌。在俄罗斯的美国商会首席执行官亚历克西斯Rodzianko说：“显然，这是由周围乌克兰的政治问题所引发的，我在想：这仅仅是一次震慑，还是预示着下次运动的开始？

法国兴业银行在一份致客户提示中警告说，在俄罗斯的那些大的外企最容易受到政治风波的影响，包括英美烟草公司，德国巴斯夫嘉士伯，可口可乐，阿尔斯通与E.ON公司。

本月早些时候，华盛顿和布鲁塞尔对莫斯科乌克兰吞并克里米亚地区和支持分裂势力的举措进行经济制裁，其后俄罗斯对西方食品进口实行禁令。

俄罗斯的食品安全监管机构正在加紧对麦当劳的监管，包括斯维尔德洛夫斯克州和鞑靼斯坦的乌拉尔，中央沃罗涅日地区和首都周边地区的不定期检查。 “我们一直知道是怎么回事，现在我们配合他们任何检查”，麦当劳的俄罗斯女发言人说。

路透社说没有收到其他西方著名品牌将被调查的消息，但据俄媒体报道，目前杰克·丹尼尔斯正在调查。威士忌生产商表示，将挑战有关其质量问题的任何指控。

AmRest是星巴克，肯德基，必胜客和汉堡王俄罗斯专营权持有者，他上周表示，他下边的这些品牌做得很好，被认定没有问题什么。

布兰森说道：“作为负责任的领导者，我们必须在尊重彼此主权和人权的基础上通过对话和外交和平解决矛盾。

“作为来自俄罗斯，乌克兰和世界各地的企业领导人我们要敦促政府共同努力，以避免重蹈冷战覆辙。我们呼吁政治家们要敢于迈出这一步，让我们的国家结束战争煎熬，为了更大的共同利益再次携手合作”。

 

Russia has launched an investigation into dozens of McDonald’s restaurants, in what looks like a tit-for-tat retaliation against American interests after the West imposed sanctions over Ukraine.

Russia’s food safety watchdog said it was looking at possible breaches of sanitary rules at McDonald’s as it shut down four of its fast-food restaurants in Moscow.

But many in the business community said it was a reflection of the deterioration in relations between Russia and the West over Ukraine, wher pro-Russian separatists are fighting against government forces.

In a separate move, the Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson called for a “peaceful resolution” of the Ukraine crisis in an open letter signed by other leading business and cultural figures from Russia, Ukraine and the West.

Unilever’s chief executive, Paul Polman, the Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus, PayPal co-founder Max Levchin and former eBay president Jeff Skoll joined Sir Richard in his call for “conversations, not armed conflict” over Ukraine amid concern about the impact on trade of a prolonged stand-off between Russia and the West.

Russia’s move against McDonald’s alarmed US business leaders. Alexis Rodzianko, chief executive of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, said: “Obviously, it’s driven by the political issues surrounding Ukraine. The question on my mind is: is this going to be a knock on the door, or is this going to be the beginning of a campaign?”

In a note to clients, the French bank Société Générale warned that the companies generating most revenues in Russia, and therefore most exposed to political risks, are British American Tobacco, BASF. Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Alstom and E.ON.

Earlier this month Russia imposed bans on Western food imports after Washington and Brussels applied economic sanctions in response to Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region and its backing of the separatists.

The country’s food watchdog is now stepping up its probe of McDonald’s, as it embarks on unscheduled checks in several Russian regions, including Sverdlovsk and Tatarstan in the Urals, the central Voronezh region and the regions around the capital. “We are aware of what is going on. We have always been and are now open to any checks,” a McDonald’s Russia spokeswoman said.

The news agency Reuters said no other prominent Western brand has reported coming under extra scrutiny from the Russian authorities, but there were Russian media reports that Jack Daniels was being investigated. The whisky producer said it would challenge any accusations about its quality.

AmRest, the Warsaw-listed holder of the Russian franchises for several other US brands — Starbucks, KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King — said last week that it had experienced no problems and was doing well.

The Branson letter said: “As responsible leaders, we must ensure that differences are resolved peacefully, through dialogue and diplomacy, and with respect for both national sovereignty and the right of all human beings to live in peace.

“We as business leaders from Russia, Ukraine and the rest of the world urge our governments to work together to ensure we do not regress into the Cold War misery of the past. We call upon politicians to be bold and brave, so that our nations can end the painful suffering caused by war and once again collaborate for the greater good.”

 

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