Losses from sanctions to depend on duration - Novak
MOSCOW. Sept 3 (Interfax) - The sanctions against Russia imposed by the U.S. and EU will not result in substantial losses if they are not prolonged, Energy Minister Alexander Novak said.
"It is hard to talk about the specific amount of losses. It truly is difficult to tally them today. Everything will depend on how this develops in future. If they wind down in short order, the losses will not be substantial," Novak said in an interview on Rossiya 24 television.
Russian and foreign companies are continuing cooperation, despite the sanctions. "Companies are trying to carry on relations among themselves nonetheless, in equipment deliveries and project financing. We hope there won't be any political pressure on companies on the part of individual governments," he said.
Consumers and members of the business community do not support sanctions against Russia, he said. "For the most part, members of the business community say that the sanctions and politics overall should not be applied in the economy, in energy relations. The world has become so globalized - projects and contracts are interconnected. Today there are virtually no projects that are monopolized from the standpoint of any single participant," Novak said, offering the Yamal LNG project as an example.
