The Kremlin has stated that russians should not expect sanctions to be lifted or a return to pre-war life

This was stated by Maxim Oreshkin, economic adviser to russian dictator Vladimir Putin, during a speech at the St Petersburg Economic Forum, according to The Moscow Times.

“We shouldn’t expect things to go back to the way they were, or for Western sanctions to be lifted or anything like that. The changes taking place are of a fundamental, global nature. The world that existed 20 years ago no longer exists, and never will,” he said.

According to him, Western sanctions are not a reaction to “specific events” (russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine), so russians must not only adapt to the new restrictions but also act pre-emptively.

He called on russian businesses to “develop the domestic market more actively” and expand their presence in other countries.

“We already need to move away from this purely defensive model. In fact, to a large extent, we have already moved away from it in many respects,” Oreshkin asserted.

The Kremlin representative also stated that, in response to sanctions, the balance between ‘defensive’ and ‘active’ measures would increasingly shift towards an offensive strategy. Against this backdrop, Oreshkin advised russians to “look to the future with greater optimism”, claiming that there are allegedly no serious setbacks in the russian economy.

Source: NV