MOSCOW, January 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is not planning to limit the outflow of capital, and will continue to welcome foreign investors, the country's prime minister said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday.

In an interview with the Bloomberg news agency, Vladimir Putin acknowledged that there was a significant outflow of capital from Russia in 2008, but said this was linked to so-called speculative capital or portfolio investment.

"That money also went for well-known reasons, specifically the liquidity crunch in the United States, Western Europe and some other developed markets," he said. "Russia has not been an exception."

He said the outflow of capital helped build trust, "and that is why we have not restricted the repatriation of capital and have no plans to do so in the future."

Putin stressed that Russia had liberalized its financial market in July 2007 and that the current liberal policies would be preserved regardless of any financial difficulties.

"We will treat foreign investors like our own," he said, "and we'll protect their interests as long as they comply with laws and regulations."