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Foreign investors could begin returning to Russia if new military conflicts are avoided for at least one year, deputy finance minister Alexei Moiseev said at the Moscow Stock Exchange Forum on April 16, according to RBC.

"I am confident that [if there were] at least a year without new wars, then Western investors will definitely come back", he said.

However, the scale of investments wouldn't be as large as it was [before 2022], the official added. "Of course, the volumes won't be what they used to be, but I believe they will still find their decent place", he argued.

Moiseev recalled how in 1998 foreign investors had seemed unlikely to put money into the Russian economy, but by April 1999 they "were already pouring in". "So it's this old motto – "Cash conquers evil', excuse the expression... In my opinion, it still holds”, he said.

Last year, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree granting foreign investors access to deposits in Russian banks, securities traded on stock exchanges and at initial public offerings, as well as derivatives. To purchase assets and hold funds non-residents must open a special Type-In investment account.

According to Moiseev, the geopolitical environment has so far hindered the launch of these accounts. "Everyone kept saying: it's coming, it's coming, it'll be signed any moment now. But then Trump said something, then one war began somewhere in the south, then another began, involving Iran and Israel – this of course doesn't help", he said.