The Kremlin did not agree with the words of Scholz about the effectiveness of sanctions against the Russian Federation

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s statement about the growing effectiveness of sanctions against Russia can be argued, as the Russian economy has shown that it is adapting to restrictions, said Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the President of the Russian Federation.

In his article For Foreign Affairs magazine, the German chancellor said that the effectiveness of anti-Russian sanctions is increasing every week and none of them will be lifted if Russia tries to dictate the terms of a peace agreement with Ukraine.

“Certain problems, of course, arise due to sanctions, but so far they have not been critical. Here you can argue with Scholz. Experts perfectly see the process of adapting the Russian economy to these conditions, it would be unprofessional to deny it, ”Peskov told reporters.

The Kremlin spokesman also drew attention to the fact that anti-Russian sanctions also harm the economies of European countries that supported these restrictions.

The eighth package of sanctions against Russia was adopted on 6 October. One of the main measures was to limit the cost of oil. Effective December 5 entered price ceiling for crude oil. It is set at $60 per barrel. For petroleum products, it will come into force on February 5, 2023. Earlier today, Politico reported about the discussion in the EU of the preparation of new restrictions against Russia.

At the end of November, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin declared about the continued adaptation of the Russian economy to challenges and its resilience to a range of risks. He then recalled that many experts improved their assessments of GDP dynamics, including international organizations – the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the OECD. The decline in the Russian economy at the end of the year, according to preliminary forecasts of the government, may be less than 3%, Mishustin said.

The Ministry of Economics earlier predicted inflation by the end of the year at 12.4%. A year earlier, this figure was 8.4%. It is assumed that in 2023 consumer price growth will be at the level of 5.5%, and in the future it will reach the target level of 4%. According to the results of this year, the country’s economy will contract by 2.9%, the Ministry of Economics expects, and in 2023 – already by 0.8%. In subsequent years, GDP growth is expected to be 2.6% per year.

Subscribe on Vedomosti on Telegram and stay up to date with the main economic and business news.