NEW YORK, February 1. /TASS/. Russia’s foreign trade has largely rebound to levels observed prior to the start of the special military operation in Ukraine, the New York Times newspaper has reported.
"Russian trade appears to have largely bounced back to where it was before the invasion of Ukraine last February. Analysts estimate that Russia’s imports may have already recovered to prewar levels, or will soon do so," the paper said.
According to the report, many countries have found it hard to sever or reduce trade ties with Russia, as the West told them to. A research by the Swiss-based University of St. Gallen showed that fewer than 9% of companies based in the European Union and Group of 7 nations had divested one of their Russian subsidiaries.
"The Russian economy has proved surprisingly resilient, raising questions about the efficacy of the West’s sanctions," the New York Times said.
"Countries have had difficulty reducing their reliance on Russia for energy and other basic commodities, and the Russian central bank has managed to prop up the value of the ruble and keep financial markets stable," it said.
The New York Times also quoted data from the International Monetary Fund, which indicate the resilience of the Russian economy. According to IMF, Russia’s projected GDP growth will be 0.3% this year, a sharp improvement from its previous estimate of a 2.3% contraction.