– Russia is facing its most difficult situation in three decades unprecedented western sanctionsbut foreign attempts to isolate it from the global economy will fail, the prime minister said on Thursday. Mikhail Mishustin.
Western countries are gradually expanding a series of economic sanctions imposed to try to force Russia to do so end its military operation in Ukraine and withdraw its troops.
Moscow describes its actions in Ukraine as a “special operation” who, he says, is designed not to occupy territory but to destroy his neighbor’s military capabilities and capture those he deems dangerous nationalists.
“The current situation can undoubtedly be described as the most difficult for Russia in three decades,” Mishustin told the Duma, the lower house of parliament. “Such sanctions were not applied even in the darkest days of the Cold War.”
Western sanctions have already isolated Russia of the global financial network and have left several of its major banks without access to the international banking messaging system SWIFT, while some traders have begun refusing Russian oil supplies, increasing pressure on Moscow’s finances.
Before the latest sanctions, Russia projected a budget surplus of 1.3 trillion rubles ($17 billion) this year, equivalent to 1% of gross domestic product. On Thursday, Mishustin said Russia will spend whatever it earns this year on state aid.
The government has so far pledged more than 1 trillion rubles in crisis aid for businesses, social benefits and families with children, of which 250 billion will go to state aid to Russia’s railways.
In retaliation for the sanctions, Russia has introduced capital controls that make it almost impossible for foreign investors to sell their assets, both industrial and financial, if they decide to leave the country.
“If they have to go, production must continue to function, because it creates jobs. Our citizens work there,” Mishustin said. The Kremlin has suggested it could nationalize the assets of Western investors who decide to leave the country.
As some of the exiting companies transfer their stakes to Russian companies, Mishustin said the situation offers scope for new business opportunities.
“Our financial system, the lifeblood of the entire economy, has survived,” Mishustin said. “The stock market and the ruble are stabilizing. I doubt any other country would have resisted. We do”.
Reuters report; Edited in Spanish by Carlos Serrano
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