Putin explained why Western sanctions had no effect

Sanctions from the West against Russia have had no effect, the world needs Russia , no decisions by Western or American leaders can change this, President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club. The broadcast is being conducted by RBC.

"The volume of sanctions (from Western countries - ), punitive measures applied to our country, has no analogues in history. Our opponents assumed that they would deal Russia a crushing, knockout blow, from which it would simply not recover, would cease to be one of the key elements of international life <...>. The world needs Russia. And no decisions by either Washington or Brussels bosses are capable of changing this," Putin emphasized.

At the same time, the head of state noted that, unlike "our opponents," Russia does not perceive Western civilization as an enemy and does not pose the question: us or them. The West, according to Putin, clings to its own monopoly and tries to retain power. These efforts could be directed with much greater benefit and impact toward solving truly common problems that affect everyone — problems of demography and social inequality, access to medicine and new technologies, the president noted.

After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, the US and other Western countries imposed the most severe sanctions against Russia, affecting most large companies, including the largest banks, depositories and payment systems. In addition, the West froze about $300 billion in gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Central Bank of Russia .

After the start of the special operation , US President Joe Biden said that Washington had a choice: to impose sanctions against Russia in response to the start of the military operation in Ukraine or to start a “third world war.”

Moscow considers the sanctions illegal. Putin called their lifting one of the conditions for the start of peace talks on Ukraine. Other conditions were the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the territory of four new regions and Ukraine's permanent neutral status. The president also said last spring that sanctions against Russia would remain for a long time.

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