Vladimir Putin gave this Monday (18) a rare statement in which he recognizes the effects of Western sanctions against Russia. “Being aware of the colossal difficulties we face, we will intelligently seek new solutions,” the Russian leader told a strategic development council.
He said the country should prioritize developing its own technology and supporting fast-growing companies, but added that this would not imply isolation from the rest of the world.
“In today’s world, it’s not possible to separate everything with a compass and build a wall,” he said. “It’s just not possible.”
Putin’s remarks come amid discussions by the European Union (EU) about heeding the bloc’s Executive’s recommendation and applying the seventh package of sanctions against Moscow. This time, the measure would aim at banning Russian gold imports, among other things.
The bloc’s head of diplomacy, Spaniard Josep Borell, defended on Friday (16) that the mechanism would be crucial to fighting the War in Ukraine. He said that since the beginning of the military invasion, more than 1,200 Russian people and 100 organizations have been sanctioned by the EU.
“The sanctions have hit the Russian economy substantially, depriving the country of access to financial markets and advanced technology products, harming the oil industry, airlines, military and automotive industries,” Borell said in a statement.
This is precisely the perception Putin says he wants to combat. “It is clear that this represents a major change for our country, but we are not going to give up and plunge into disorder or, as some predict, go back decades,” the Russian told government officials.
Dmitri Peskov, an adviser to the Kremlin, echoed Putin’s reading during an interview with an Iranian TV station – the Russian president is due to travel to Tehran this week, in what would be his second trip abroad since he began the invasion of the neighboring country.
“Perhaps this is the price that both Russia and Iran have to pay for their independence and sovereignty,” Peskov said. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he continued, referring to Western sanctions, which he called illegal measures under international law.
While Moscow has seen restrictions intensified in the war, Iran is the target of international sanctions over its nuclear weapons development program. The country is trying to ease restrictions through the possible resumption of the 2015 nuclear agreement, whose clauses were repeatedly flouted.
Russia targets long-range missiles
On the war front, Russian Defense Minister Seguii Choigu has ordered pro-Russian forces to prioritize the destruction of Ukraine’s long-range missiles and artillery weapons.
He said the equipment – much of it donated by Western countries – was being used to bomb civilian areas in Donbass, Ukraine’s Russian-speaking east, and set fire to wheat fields and grain storage silos.
In the city of Toretsk, in the province of Donetsk, at least six people died during a Russian bombing, announced the Ukrainian State Service for Emergency Situations. Bombings were also reported on Monday morning in Mikolaiv (south), as well as in Kharkiv (northeast) and Dnipropetrovsk (central east) regions.
