MOSCOW, July 6. /TASS/. The mandate of the Russian president is more powerful than of any politician in the West, Vladimir Potanin, CEO and one of the owners of Norilsk Nickel said in an interview with TASS.

"We can’t break off with Europe and America. And they can’t break off with us either. If we can’t be friends, we'll have to build some relations anyway. I'm confident that even our generation will live in a completely different system of contacts with the outside world. This system is much more comfortable," - he said.

"And now we will clench our teeth and wait as long as it is necessary. Do you think that this conflict is so enjoyable to the West? Our counteractions are not comparable to the sanctions imposed against Russia, however, Westerners are squalling even louder than we are. Their pain threshold is lower than ours, they are not used to inconveniences and discomfort. In this sense, they are not competitors to us. We can stand it longer than they. I am one hundred percent sure of it," - Potanin said.

"In situations of standoff the winner is the one who is ready to endure pain longer, who have a stronger and trusted leader. The mandate of our president is more powerful than the mandate of any politician in the West. For this reason, I look into the future with cautious optimism. We have time and we know how to be patient while among our opponents we observe mainly loud cries and groundless hopes that we will break down under the pressure of sanctions. This is definitely not going to happen,"- Potanin said.