BANGKOK, May 22. /TASS/. Anti-Russian sanctions create opportunities for various nations, including Thailand, to enter the Russian market and fill in the vacated niches, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov has said.

"In all situations of this kind, [sanctions] are a problem on one hand, but on the other it offers opportunities <…> including for the economy of Thailand, opportunities for coming to the Russian market and filling in the niches that had been vacated," he said. "Besides, it is also an opportunity for Russian companies, who are in active search for new markets for their products."

"This applies to fuel and energy, oil, oil products, gas and fertilizers, as well as food and engineering products. That is why we are here, to discuss [and] <…> make the maximum use of the opportunities that are emerging now," Reshetnikov added.

The minister went on to say that although Russia has been living under the pressure of sanctions since 2014, the current wave of restricted measures was unprecedented.

"They were imposed on over 10,000 Russian individuals and companies, affecting many economic sectors and <…> going far beyond the internationally accepted borders," he said. "I am referring to the seizure of Russia’s gold and foreign currency reserves and arrests of foreign property belonging to Russian companies and individuals."

In his words, Russia has coped with the pressure of sanctions.

"Our financial markets have stabilized, and the ruble has strengthened. Our inflation is going down, and we have launched processes of structural reforms in the economy, including <…> re-orientation from Western markets <…> to the East, primarily to Asian markets.".