German businesses invested more than €3.3 billion ($3.7 billion) in Russia last year, reaching the highest levels in a decade and exceeding numbers not seen since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, according to data from the Russia-German Chamber of Commerce cited by the Financial Times.

German corporates are not alone in increasing their cooperation with Russian firms. Bilateral trade between France and Russia grew by 11% to $17 billion last year and French firms currently have $20 billion invested in Russia, FT reported.

The French energy company Total recently acquired a 10% stake in a $21 billion gas project in Russia’s Arctic, in addition to its existing 20% stake in a neighboring $28 billion gas project in the region.