Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper how difficult are the sanctions for Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with Germany's Bild newspaper how difficult are the sanctions for Russia.
«Concerning our possibilities on the international financial markets, the sanctions are severely harming Russia. But the biggest harm is currently caused by the decline of the prices for energy. We suffer dangerous revenue losses in our export of oil and gas, which we can partly compensate for elsewhere. But the whole thing also has a positive side: if you earn so many petrodollars – as we once did – that you can buy anything abroad, this slows down developments in your own country», he stressed.
According to his words the Russian economy is currently gradually being stabilized: «Last year, the gross domestic product had dropped by 3.8 per cent. Inflation is approximately 12.7 per cent. The trade balance, however, is still positive. For the first time in many years, we are exporting significantly more goods with a high added value, and we have more than 300 billion dollars in gold reserves. Several programs for modernizing the economy are being carried out».
The sanctions were imposed after Russia and Crimean Peninsula reunification in March 2014. They were initially introduced for one year on July 31 last year. But then the sanctions were prolonged.
