Russian economy strong & resilient thanks to Western sanctions – former French presidential envoy

The real economy of Russia is very strong and its business with Europe is “going good” despite all the sanctions, said Jean-Pierre Thomas, president of Thomas Vendôme Investment and France’s former presidential envoy.

Talking to RT on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Thomas said that many big companies worldwide, including French companies, want to invest in Russia. Businesses particularly want to invest in the agriculture sector, “to produce cheese, to transform cheese, to improve the supply chain,” he said.

“Because you know thanks to these sanctions and the embargo, this sector in Russia is booming and is second after gas and petroleum, and before defense.”

Thomas praised Russia’s economic forum for being organized very professionally and for being practical. He said that every year SPIEF allows direct dialogue with decisive people and businesses. “It is a good place of action where you could discuss a lot of realistic projects,” he said, noting that a lot of French companies are present this year.

“People should know that the real economy is working, we have political dialogue, media communication… but that’s one thing. The real economy and business between Russia and Europe is going good.”

READ MORE: Anti-Russian sanctions benefit only US firms at Europe’s expense, says German politician

Speaking about the economic sanctions against Russia, he said: “It’s always very interesting and funny to speak about the isolation of Russia because it is 34 times bigger than my country, France, and is the biggest country in the world. So, I think, is Russia isolated from the rest of the world or the world is isolated, that we don’t cooperate with Russia?”

“The capacity of resilience, resistance and the economy in Russia is very strong,” he added.

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