LONDON - British banks or companies working with any aspect of Russian President Vladimir Putin's administration should think carefully about whether their actions are propping up his "regime", a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Monday.
Energy company BP and global bank HSBC were among a number of Western companies looking to exit Russia after Putin invaded Ukraine.
"I think the prime minister's view is that Putin's regime and Putin must be treated like a pariah state and that businesses should think very carefully if they are still continuing to do anything that props up the Putin regime," the spokesman told reporters.
"We are not seeking anything in terms of regime change, what we are talking about here clearly is how we stop Russia seeking to subjugate a democratic country."
