Moscow assesses West’s sanctions ‘blitzkrieg’
The West’s onslaught of sanctions has failed to cripple Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a joint press conference with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday.
“The ‘blitzkrieg’ on which our opponents counted, has failed, this is quite obvious. Our financial system and industry are working rhythmically,” Putin stated, noting the Russian economy’s resilience and stability in light of the sanctions, and highlighting the importance of adapting the economy to new realities and limitations.
The president noted that while the Russian economy has maintained a stable mode of operation and the ruble has regained its strength against foreign currencies, there is still a risk of things escalating, as Russia’s adversaries intend to continue their economic warfare against it.
He added that he believes that the best course of action is to de-bureaucratize the economic sphere and expressed hope that common sense will ultimately prevail in the West in light of the consequences they themselves face due to some of the sanctions imposed.
Putin did acknowledge that Russia has problems and that the sanctions have introduced some difficulties, particularly in the logistics sphere, warning there might be more challenges to come for the Russian economy, but noted that the nations imposing these restrictions are also set to face their fair share of consequent issues.
He insisted that it is necessary to allocate additional resources to support small and medium-sized businesses and create better growth conditions for new industries based on new and yet-to-be-developed supply chains, and added that he believes the sanctions will result in new leaders emerging within Russia’s economy.
