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Anti-Russian sanctions

Russian economy takes sanctions in stride, diplomat says as EU adopts new measures

"The point of the sanctions was to strangle the Russian economy and undermine the unity of society," Alexander Grushko said, adding that the European Union "achieved the opposite result"

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko

© Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS

MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. The Russian economy has coped with the European Union's sanctions and will overcome them again, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said in comments on the bloc’s adoption of the 14th package of restrictive measures.

"The Russian economy will not just cope with them - it has already coped. If we look at the pace of economic development in EU countries, it is now about 0.1%, or close to a statistical blip. The pace of the Russian economy is 3.6%. The point of the sanctions was to strangle the Russian economy and undermine the unity of society. The EU achieved the opposite result," he told reporters, when asked whether Russia will be able to ride out the new set of EU restrictions.

On June 24, the European Union adopted a 14th package of sanctions against Russia, which includes restrictions on 116 Russian individuals and entities. The EU also imposed sanctions on exports of dual-use goods and technologies against 61 companies from countries outside the bloc, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

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