MOSCOW, March 1 (Reuters) - French car maker Renault could adjust the size of its 25 percent stake in Russia's AvtoVAZ if asked by the Russian government, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said on Monday.
Renault bought its AvtoVAZ stake for $1 billion in 2008, but the company's bet on a fast-growing Russian market fell apart as car sales halved during the recent economic crisis.
AvtoVAZ had to be rescued by the state as it came close to collapsing under mammoth debts, raising questions about whether Renault would unload its stake.
'If this 25 percent stake is to change, it is not up to us. It is up to the Russian government to ask us about it, and then we will reconsider,' Ghosn told Reuters Insider in an interview ahead of talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
When asked if the stake in the maker of the Lada could be sold within the next two years, he replied, 'No.'
Ghosn later met Putin at Moscow's Vnukovo Airport. The summit was unusual in that it saw Russia's most influential politician leave the city centre to meet a foreign executive, rather than summon him to the White House.
After the meeting, Putin said the government would review its strategy to develop the car industry this week, while Ghosn reiterated his confidence in AvtoVAZ.
RESPONSIBILITY
Ghosn said earlier that AvtoVAZ could make money and pledged to support the new chief executive, Igor Komarov. But he also made it clear that responsibility for the group's recovery rested with Komarov.
'New CEO Komarov is doing a very good job. We will support him ... mainly with technology and equipment, not so much with money in cash. Cash is being provided by the government,' Ghosn said at Renault's main plant in Moscow.
AvtoVAZ, based in Togliatti on the Volga River, is due to announce a restructuring plan later this month.
'The CEO of AvtoVAZ knows he is responsible for the turnaround of AvtoVAZ -- we are supporting him,' Ghosn said.
'No doubt AvtoVAZ will make money in the future. If I had doubts, we would be gone already,' he said, adding the same was true for Renault's stake in Sweden's Volvo.
The Renault CEO could not rule out more vehicle recalls by its Japanese partner Nissan, which announced last week that it would recall 76,000 vehicles.
'Nobody can say they will not have recalls in the future. We are being extremely attentive to the situation at Nissan,' he said.
Ghosn was launching new facilities to double capacity at Renault's Moscow plant.
Addressing industry executives and reporters, he confirmed Renault was investing 150 million euros ($202.8 million) in the factory to double capacity to 160,000 cars a year and begin production of the Sandero model.
Renault's use of the new capacity will depend on market conditions, and Ghosn told a press conference he saw overall European sales down 10 percent in 2010, coupled with a gradual rise in the Russian market.
Ghosn hosted the ceremony alongside Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, and he closed the launch by presenting the veteran Russian politician with a key to a new Sandero.
'If you allow me, I will accept this gift, but give it to someone in need -- a family with lots of children,' Luzhkov said.
($1=.7359 Euro)
(Reporting by John Bowker and Kiryl Sukhotski; Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyrov and Dasha Korsunskaya; Editing by Rupert Winchester, Derek Caney and John Wallace)
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