Google says in constant dialogue with Russian authorities

MOSCOW, Jun 9 (PRIME) -- Google, earlier found guilty by the Russian antitrust service of abusing its dominant position and getting ready for a yet-to-be-sized fine, is in a constant dialogue with the country’s authorities, the company said late Wednesday.

“As we’ve already said, in the frameworks of the case, we are holding a dialogue with authorities and the industry’s leaders to explain that (Google’s operating system) Android stimulates competition and innovations and allows consumers to buy the best mobile devices of a wide price range in Russia and all over the world,” a spokesperson for the U.S. giant said.

The antitrust watchdog found Google guilty of violating the competition law on the market of preinstalled application stores and ordered the company to fix violations. The case, initiated by Google’s local archrival Yandex, threatens the U.S. company with a fine. Hearings to scale the amount of penalty have been already delayed several times.

Google contested the antitrust service’s decision, but the court upheld the authority.

In April, the service’s Director Igor Artemyev said the fine would be much lower than the one threatening Google in Europe. In 2015, the European Commission opened an antitrust investigation against Google, which can face a fine exceeding U.S. $6 billion.

Artemyev assumed earlier on Wednesday that Google might be willing to conclude an amicable agreement with the service.

Yandex sees it essential to restore a competitive situation on the market and eliminate consequences of those violations that were found by the Federal Antimonopoly Service and confirmed by the court.

“An amicable agreement as a tool stipulating its voluntary fulfillment could be one of ways to settle the situation if it complies with key requirements of the main decision,” a spokesperson for Yandex said.

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