Russian President Vladimir Putin said that his country could use Western sanctions to boost economic development by becoming more independent and not replying on other nations, in his latest statement released to the media. He is taking part in a live televised phone-in program, with the nation’s economic problems predominating.
The Russian President had said that he had told business giants that he hadn’t expected the EU-US sanctions – imposed over Russia’s actions in Ukraine – and that they need to be waved out soon. ”We need to use the situation to reach a new level of development,” he further stated.
The BBC’s Sarah Rainsford from the capital city, Moscow, says that the event is highly choreographed and is being regulated but it does reveal Russians’ concerns. Russians’ real incomes have fallen this year for the first time since Mr Putin came to power. About two million people have submitted questions pertaining to the same. Russia’s economy has been suffering economy at an alarming rate.
Mr Putin said the Russian economy would require at least about a couple of years to bounce back to its original and better form, though the rouble’s value was rising again. But industrial output may shrink further, he warned. He said there had been progress in the Russian agriculture and that it was self-sufficient and replacing imports of Western food.
This phone-in would be the thirteenth time occurring, with each lasting for approximately four hours.
