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Putin expects Russia will achieve normal relations with West

The Russian president believes the West will get bored with sanctions

MOSCOW, February 9. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin expects that the policy of sanctions will make its own ideologists feel bored.

"I believe that soon they will get bored with it. Those who do such things," Putin told a congress of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on Friday. "I still do hope that we will achieve normal relations somewhow."

Putin drew the business community’s attention to the fact that Russia was entering a very complex, dramatic and important period of its development.

"It is business efforts that will largely determine how successful we will be in getting through it and what results we will achieve," Putin said. "You and me are aware of the external restrictions. I will not dwell upon them in detail. I will merely say that our stance is well-known: the policy of artificial restrictions in international business relations is a dead end, which causes direct losses and missed benefits to all, including the initiators of this policy." Putin said that in the process of his contacts with foreign businesses he arrived at the conclusion that foreign business circles shared that point of view, too. In particular, he recalled the recent meeting with representatives of major French businesses and the just-held conversation with France’s president Emmanuel Macron.

"We are positive about what we can do in cooperation with France and with other countries to develop our business ties," Putin said. He recalled that the policy of restrictions against Russia had been conducted all the way. As an example he recalled that precisely the moment the Jackson-Vanik amendment was canceled there emerged the Magnitsky Act. That happened long before the events in Ukraine and Crimea.

"Just because some wish to treat us this way," Putin said with regret.

He believes that discussions with foreign partners should be held not only about sanctions, but also about "the new technological wave that is fundamentally changing the landscape of the world economy."

"If you don’t mind my saying so, the deck of cards is being dealt anew. Fundamentally new markets of goods and services will be formed and new leaders will be emerging," he said. Putin warned that in a situation like this competitors would not be very ceremonious in relations with each other and other methods of pressure any forms of competition might be put to use.

"Apparently, the challenge of sanctions is not temporary and most probably will last for a certain period," Putin said. "But let me say once again that I do hope that common sense will prevail and we will be moving with all of our partners in the right direction in the interests of the world economy."