COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Danish pension fund AkademikerPension will immediately halt new investments in Russian assets after President Vladimir Putin recognised Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine as independent, it said on Tuesday.
The $23 billion fund said it would stop new investments in Russian government bonds and companies where the Russian state owns stakes of more than 50%.
"Putin's formal recognition of the two separatist republics is a violation of Ukraine's sovereignty, which is a violation of international law. And it is also a breach of our policy on responsible investments," the fund's chief executive Jens Munch Holst said in a statement.
The quarantine on Russian investments can run for a maximum period of six months but could become an definite exclusion, he added.
AkademikerPension said it owns 373 million Danish crowns ($56.87 million) worth of Russian government securities and shares in companies where the Russian state owns more than 50%, representing 0.3% of its portfolio.