There are enough potential buyers of Russian defense industry products to replace those who may stop buying them due to U.S. actions - Russian MP
MOSCOW. Jan 30 (Interfax) - The number of potential buyers of products manufactured by the Russian defense industry is sufficient to replace those who could quit this market following the publication of the 'Kremlin list' by the United States, deputy head of the State Duma Defense Committee Yury Shvytkin told Interfax.
"If we take the defense industry, if these or those states leave the market, for example, the market where they purchase our weapons, other states will come to it and then it will be difficult, if not to say impossible, for them to return to this market," Shvytkin said on Tuesday.
The high quality of Russian weapons was demonstrated during the operation in Syria, he said.
"I do not have any information that someone has refused to buy Russian weapons. But I do not rule out that this could happen. But we have offers from a large number of states which are ready to purchase [Russian weapons]," he said.
"The need for a symmetric response will be determined based on what possible damage the U.S. is trying to cause by its 'Kremlin report'," he said.
"We can see already today that all of the sanctions efforts undertaken by the U.S. and its allies are ineffective because the Russian economy keeps growing, although maybe not at such a rapid pace as we would like to see," he said.
"The attempt to neutralize senior officials who play a key role to a certain extent in various issues is tied to the election campaign in Russia and is being made in order to cause anger among the people and intensify protest sentiments," the Russian MP said.
"On the whole, the U.S. policy shows that they [the U.S.] have never understood and will never understand the mindset of our people. Therefore, all of their efforts are simply doomed to failure," Shvytkin said.
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