To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to implement the policy announced in March 2022 in regard to companies maintaining trade links with Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. (S6O-03656)

In March 2022, we called on businesses in Scotland to sever their links with Russia. That policy reflects the specific circumstances of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is additional to the United Kingdom Government’s regime of sanctions against Russia. We subsequently issued guidance for the Scottish Government and our economic agencies when entering into a significant relationship with companies. That sets out checks to undertake on companies to identify links with Russia and steps that they have taken to withdraw from them, while recognising that severing links may not always be feasible in exceptional circumstances.

The Deputy First Minister may be aware of the Glasgow-based company Seapeak, which has been the subject of reports by investigative journalists and has continued to run vessels trading in Russian liquefied natural gas. The fact that a firm based in Glasgow is continuing to prop up the Putin regime by trading in fossil fuels regardless of either the invasion of Ukraine or the climate emergency will shock and disgust many people. However, no action is currently being taken to shut down that extraordinarily unethical business.

Will the Deputy First Minister write to the new Foreign Secretary highlighting this scandal and urging the UK Government to ensure that firms that are profiteering from a business that fuels climate change and helps to fund Putin’s illegal war are shut down?

As Patrick Harvie suggested, sanctions are a reserved matter. We have made very clear what our views are in relation to Russia, and we expect businesses and organisations that are operating in Scotland to reflect that. We have called on the UK Government to put in place the strongest possible sanctions regime against Russia. I will write to the Foreign Secretary to make our position on those matters clear and to encourage the UK Government to continue to increase pressure on the Russian regime.