Sanctions against Russia are destined to fail - Ryabkov
MOSCOW. May 27 (Interfax) - The pressure exerted on Russia by Western sanctions is not working, but, on the contrary, is helping it move in the direction of import substitution, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said.
"I want to reiterate that the sanctions and the attempts to break us economically are destined to fail. We have dealt with a new reality for a year and I am confident that it is helping us move in the direction of import substitution," he said in an interview with Rossiya 24 television.
Ryabkov said that Russia is now looking for alternative cooperation options.
"The new BRICS bank, like the conditional currency reserve pool, is intended to help Russia and all other BRICS countries counter this illegal political pressure," the Russian diplomat said.
"When the bank is launched, you will see that the work on infrastructure projects and other large investment initiatives in the collective BRICS format will intensify and results will be achieved," he said.