“We Must Support the Russians”: Putin on Russia’s Economic Situation

Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting to discuss socio-economic issues. During the meeting, the president noted that the state of Russia's economy is stabilizing, and the ruble's exchange rate is returning to levels seen at the beginning of 2022.

Putin stated that the economic blitzkrieg of sanctions imposed against Russia has failed. He pointed out that the sanctions on the Russian Federation have resulted in a decline in the living standards of Europeans.

The president also instructed to accelerate the transition of Russia's foreign trade to rubles and other national currencies. He emphasized that Russia has withstood unprecedented pressure from Western sanctions.

“Recently, the main negative factor for the economy has become the next round of sanctions pressure from Western countries. The concern was that our financial and economic situation would rapidly deteriorate, causing panic in the markets, collapses in the banking system, and a massive shortage of goods in stores,” the president added.

According to him, it is essential to support the Russians: “People feel how prices have increased in their family budgets. We must support our citizens and help them to overcome this wave of inflation,” Putin stated.