MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Russia does not need to borrow and "beg" for funds abroad thanks to a robust balance sheet, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in his State of the Nation Address to the Federal Assembly on Tuesday.

"New sources of financing and investment are the most important issue on the agenda for developing economic growth. We also talk about this a lot. Thanks to a strong balance of payments, Russia does not need to borrow abroad, bow down, beg for money and then have a long dialogue about what, how much and on what conditions to give back," Putin said.

He added that Russian banks are operating steadily and the volume of bank loans to the corporate sector in 2022 increased by 14% compared to 2021.