Economy ‘in tatters?’ Russian PM invites Obama to do fact check for himself
The Russian economy has been resilient to external pressure and has resumed growing, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said. He has invited former US President Barack Obama to see for himself.
Medvedev recalled Obama’s 2015 words, when he said that the Russian economy was “isolated’ and “in tatters” because of the US-led Western sanctions.
“Let him come to look at this tatters,” Medvedev said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV. "Last year, the Russian economy grew 1.5 percent. This year, industry grew 2 percent in the first quarter, so did the trade turnover. Agriculture has grown 2.5 percent. These are very good numbers."
He also pointed to a record low unemployment rate in Russia. “We have the lowest unemployment levels on track, just below 5 percent. This is an unprecedentedly low figure," the prime minister said.
The US sanctions are just a way for dirty and unfair competition against Russia to be possible. "This is a disgrace. This is, in fact, a non-competitive struggle with Russian companies,” Medvedev said. Companies like aluminum major RUSAL are number one in the world in their sector, he added.
“Americans protect their market, this is called protectionism. They are fighting the Chinese, they are fighting the Europeans, and they are fighting us saying that the Russians are not behaving well,” Medvedev said.
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