U.S. may keep sanctions for years, Russia to run economy, trade accordingly – PM

(Interfax – July 24, 2015)

Russia will be developing its economic and trade policies assuming that the United States may keep the sanctions it imposed on Russia over the Ukraine crisis for many more years, Prime Minister Dmitriy Medvedev has said.

Interfax news agency quoted Medvedev as saying in an interview to the Slovenian newspaper DELO ahead of a visit to Slovenia: “I concede that the momentum of the sanctions may continue in the USA for a long time. It is sufficient to recall the history of the Jackson-Vanik amendment, which existed for nearly 40 years and turned from an economic lever into a political one. We shall take this into account in our economic and trade policy, and shall, if necessary, respond appropriately to new unfriendly steps.”

Medvedev said the sanctions are harming American companies as well, and “therefore let the USA decide what it will do with its sanctions. I have said many times: it was not us who started this process, and it will not be us who end it”.

“Still, I hope that the American side will return to pragmatic positions. This has happened in our relations on more than one occasion in the past,” added Medvedev.

On the EU sanctions, he said that “exchanging sanctions benefits no-one”. “Europe needs Russia, while Russia needs Europe.”

“Have the sanctions achieved their goal? Of course they have not. Have they complicated life? Yes, they have, but not just for Russia. You can see well for yourself that in many ways they have struck like a boomerang those who introduced them. Members of European business circles are seriously concerned by the losses businesses in their countries are sustaining as a result of the anti-Russian restrictions. In economists’ estimates, they may reach tens of billions of euros.”

Medvedev expressed confidence that Russia will survive sanctions as it “has and will always have a margin of safety”.