MADRID, April 8./TASS/. Russia’s economy is doing better than expected amid the West’s sanctions, the Spanish paper El Pais writes.

According to its story, "the truth is that Moscow has proved to be more than resilient when it comes to punishment from the West." Thus, the newspaper has pointed out that the ruble is gradually recovering its value. In addition, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that Russia's GDP will grow by 2.6% this year. This is higher than what is expected from other G7 member states. According to the paper, this is due in part to large spending on defense, high oil prices and various trade agreements with China.

The article focuses on the difficulties faced by students from Russia who come to Spain to study because of Western sanctions. According to the newspaper, students from Russia have problems opening accounts and transferring money due to Western sanctions. The newspaper also draws attention to the high cost of flights to Russia since there are no direct flights to Spain.