15 Jun 2022 11:45

Russian economy coping with sanctions pressure - Mishustin

MOSCOW. June 15 (Interfax) - The Russian economy is coping with sanctions pressure, and sectors are receiving relevant support, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

"Acting on the president's orders, the government swiftly makes decisions to enhance the resilience of our economy under the unprecedented external pressure. The operative headquarters elaborates proposals, which are added to the priority action plan upon approval," Mishustin said at the introductory strategic session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on key areas of economic policy under the pressure from sanctions.

More than 300 measures have been added to the plan over the past three months, Mishustin said. "Many ideas have been formalized. People, businesses and various sectors are receiving respective assistance and support. Such support has helped mitigate the fallout from sanctions. The economy is smoothly adjusting to new challenges, macro-economic stability is being maintained, all social programs planned earlier are being fulfilled, the administrative burden is being consistently reduced, and conditions for projects are being improved," he said.

"On the whole, I can say that our economy has been coping with the pressure from sanctions at the current stage. This is largely being facilitated by the decisions made for the achievement of national development goals in the period before 2030," Mishustin said.

Some of the measures approved in recent months are meant for the near future, they will allow a rapid response from business, such as the establishment of supply chains, the search for new suppliers, and the delayed fulfillment of obligations, Mishustin said. "In fact, this is a period of adjustment to the new challenges and the search for quick solutions to the most pressing problems," he said, adding that such measures should be supported with decisions for the medium-term future, three years or longer.

A longer planning horizon and medium-term adjustment of the economy are the new objectives, Mishustin said.

"The global target of the work we are doing is to ensure the economic sovereignty of Russia. The country has enough resources to continue its development irrespective of the attempts to slow us down, to stop us or to pull us back. We have yet to see how key trends will be changing under new circumstances in various markets, what will happen in particular industrial sectors, which of them might need an additional safety margin or step up development, what kind of funding that would require, and how else the government could be of help," he said.