Russia's government is prepared to help the country's companies buy assets abroad, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"We would be ready to support our investors by using the tools of the government," Putin said at an investor conference in the Black Sea port town of Sochi. He made the comment in response to a suggestion that Russia should explore the possibility of buying assets from European financial institutions.

He said Russia's state-controlled banks OAO Sberbank (SBER.RS) and VTB Bank (VTBR.RS) have "more and more free resources."

"They are looking for interesting and promising projects," Putin said.

-By Nadia Popova and Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen, Dow Jones Newswires; +7 495 232-9192, nadia.popova@dowjones.com

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