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Russia has made a rare admission regarding the effectiveness of Western sanctions.
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A Kremlin spokesman said the country was on the brink of collapse after unprecedented sanctions.
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Moscow now claims to be entering a new phase of growth, despite persistent pressure on its economy.
Russia admitted its economy was on the brink of collapse last year, but now says it has overcome sanctions and is on track for strong growth this year, despite government projections. economists in light of continuing restrictions on its economy.
“There was a threat of collapse, we really had to mobilize all internal resources and forces to prevent this collapse,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the official Russian news agency on Sunday. TASS.
This economic pressure is largely due to sanctions imposed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Peskov added. The sanctions included Russia’s elimination of around $300 billion in foreign exchange reserves, the removal of some of its banks from the important SWIFT network and the implementation of a ban and a cap of $60 on the price of Russian oil, one of the country’s main sources of income.
But the nation has successfully recovered and is now entering a growth phase, Peskov said. The Kremlin now forecasts that Russian growth could reach 3% this year, higher than the 2.2% forecast by the International Monetary Fund.
“Thanks to the rather judicious and wise decisions of the country’s leadership, thanks to the titanic work of the government, it was possible to reach a plateau, stabilize (the economic situation) and then, in an absolutely unexpected way, enter into a growth trend.”, added Peskov.
The statement is a rare acknowledgment of the effectiveness of sanctions from Russian officials, who have shown defiance in the face of Western trade restrictions. In 2022, Putin called key Western measures, such as capping oil prices at $60, “stupid,” and vowed to retaliate by cutting oil production, which threatened to drive up prices.
Despite claims of strong economic growth in Russia, experts and observers have expressed doubts about the country’s economic future, with the country showing signs of financial difficulties as it plans a record military budget in 2024.
Critical sectors, such as Russia’s auto industry, have almost completely collapsed over the past year. Meanwhile, inflation continues to rage and central bankers are scrambling to prop up the value of the Russian ruble, which has plunged over the past year.
Russia could be heading for a bleak future as its economy continues to deteriorate due to the war with Ukraine, some experts say. Russia’s economic projections are also based on cherry-picked data, according to two Yale researchers, who have suggested that the country’s economy could be on the brink of collapse as the war consumes all available resources.
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