Putin says ‘peak’ of sanctions impact has passed

“We think the peak of the situation has passed. The situation is normalising,” Putin told the Eastern Economic Forum in the Pacific city of Vladivostok.

Also Read: Why Vladimir Putin still has widespread support in Russia

He pointed to improving economic indicators, including “an unemployment rate at its lowest, at 3.9 percent” and “inflation going down”. Western sanctions have targeted Russia’s energy and banking sectors in particular.

Inflation in the country soared to a two-decade high in April. It has since slowed somewhat, but remains high, standing at 15.1 percent in July.

Also Read: Hit by sanctions Russia’s growth may slow down to 0.5%

“The increase in prices still represents a certain threat,” Putin conceded, because “this affects the standard of living and the economy” as a whole. He admitted there were still “problems” linked to the imposition of sanctions, “in particular for companies that were supplied from Europe”.

But he said Russia’s abundance of natural resources would protect the country.

Also Read: Russian economy to decline by 2-2.5 per cent, says President Vladimir Putin after 6 months of war in Ukraine

“Russia is perhaps the only country that is capable of being self-sufficient in natural resources,” Putin said, as “one by one, jobs and companies disappear in Europe”.

The Russian central bank is projecting economic contraction of between four and six percent for the whole of 2022 and then a further contraction of between one and four percent for 2023, before growth picks up again in 2024.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

Post your comment
First article