Exit of some foreign firms from Russia may be for the best: Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin says the exit of some foreign companies from Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine "may be for the best", Reuters news agency reports.

Putin, who was speaking via video link to an economic forum of post-Soviet states held in Kyrgyzstan, said it was impossible to cut off Russia from Western technology despite sanctions.

Putin says Russia is seeing problems in its transportation and supply chains and that the country will continue to import substitutions, but that this is not a solution, he adds.

"The theft of assets by the West will lead to no good," he says, adding that Russia is competitive and remains the top exporter of wheat.

He adds it's important for Russia to move away from the Swift banking system - an international payment system used by thousands of financial institutions - in settlements with ex-Soviet partners.

It comes after the EU and its allies suspended seven institutions from the system in March, and has proposed excluding three more Russian banks from Swift, reports BBC.