Russian president urges seizing opportunities arising from sanctions

Russia needs to seize the opportunities arising from sanctions and use the lack of Western goods to build up the country’s technological and industrial base, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the president said “Russia must be one step ahead,” but that import substitution is not a “panacea” for the challenges facing the economy.

“We continue to experience problems with components, a number of technological solutions have become unavailable to our companies, logistics have been disrupted. But, on the other hand, all this opens up new opportunities for us,” Vladimir Putin said.

He added that the situation provides strong incentives to build an economy with full technological, industrial, human and scientific potential.

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