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Kremlin aide urges to respond to Ukrainian sanctions by import substitution

"This is an extraordinary situation in which we should actively promote import substitution, sparing no expense," Sergey Glazyev, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told TASS
Russian consumer electronics on display at the Import Substitution international fair in Moscow TASS/Artiom Korotaev
Russian consumer electronics on display at the Import Substitution international fair in Moscow
© TASS/Artiom Korotaev

SOCHI, September 18. /TASS/. A senior Kremlin aide on Friday urged to continue work on developing import substitution in Russia in response to sanctions imposed by Ukraine.

Sergey Glazyev, an adviser to President Vladimir Putin, told TASS: "We should respond in the following way. First of all, we should understand that there is an ongoing war, which is assuming trade, financial and economic shape."

"This is an extraordinary situation in which we should actively promote import substitution, sparing no expense," Glazyev said.

When asked whether Russia was planning tougher restrictive measures against Ukraine, he said there was no point in it since following the Ukrainian leadership’s "stupid" actions, economic relations between the two nations had already been reduced.

The Kremlin official said he believed that "Ukraine has no sovereign government".

"It [the government] is being formed by Washington," Glazyev said. "Everything Kiev is doing is the US policy. It is naturally aimed against Russia."

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree banning 388 individuals, including 34 international journalists and high-ranking Russian officials, from Ukraine for one year. These individuals are also subject to assets freezes in Ukraine.

The blacklist also targets 105 legal entities, including Russian flag carrier Aeroflot and around 20 Russian air companies that have been banned from flights, air haulage services or transits via Ukrainian territory.

Poroshenko’s decree says those on the blacklist "threaten national security… promote terrorist activity and violate people’s rights, interests of citizens and the state".