Western sanctions help Russia become more competitive on global market

Western sanctions helped Russia make a leap forward in various industrial fields, Russian Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov said in an interview with Bulgaria's Trud newspaper ahead of a plenary meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Varna.
"We have stated many times that sanctions policy is counterproductive and does not contribute to development of international trade. It’s interesting that not only restrictions are harmful, this is only the top of the 'iceberg.' Most recently, our Western partners have even introduced a special term 'self-sanctioning.' The fears and myths about Russia, possible consequences of working with our country and other speculation sometimes have an even more negative effect than those sanctions of Brussels and Washington," Manturov claimed.
"At the same time, to some extent thanks to these sanctions Russia got a historic chance to make a leap forward in many industrial fields. And this has made our products more competitive on the global market, including on the Bulgarian market," the minister pointed out.

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