“Nationalization is when the state makes a unilateral decision to take the asset into state ownership ... This decision was agreed by Renault itself,” RIA Novosti quotes the minister.

He also confirmed that the French company under the terms of the deal will not be able to buy the Moscow plant.

On May 16, the Ministry of Industry and Trade reported that the Russian assets of the Renault group were becoming state property.

Earlier, Denis Pak, director of the department of the automotive industry and railway engineering of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia, said that the launch of the production of Moskvich cars at the former Renault Russia plant is expected this year.