The Foreign Ministry compared the ability of Russians and Westerners to withstand sanctions

The consequences of the sanctions will affect everyone and the Russians will be able to withstand it, while residents of Western countries are much more sensitive to the deterioration of living conditions, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Pankin said in an interview with Izvestia.

“Will Russia survive? Yes, we will survive, it will be hard, we will have to change our lifestyle, some household habits, ”said Pankin.

Asking whether the global economy could withstand the "oppression" of political measures against Russia, the deputy foreign minister noted that residents of Western countries are more sensitive "to 1, 2, 3% deterioration in living conditions" than Russians, who have gone through "a lot."

Russia cannot be fenced off from the whole world “by the stroke of a pen”, since it retains ties and remains in demand, Pankin believes. “Many may say that the role of Russia is insignificant, insignificant. Somewhere it’s a few percent, somewhere it’s a dozen percent, and somewhere it’s 30–40% or 50%,” he said.