An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has been asked to step in to build a railway link between Russia and annexed Crimea after low margins and the risk of Western sanctions put off other builders, industry sources told Reuters on Monday.

The 17-billion-ruble ($285-million) contract is for a railway to connect the Russian rail network with what some Russians have dubbed “Putin’s bridge”, a 19-km (12-mile) road-and-rail Bridge across the Kerch Strait which separates Russia from Crimea.

The United States sanctioned seven Russian firms involved in the bridge construction last year.

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