MOSCOW, August 20. /ITAR-TASS/. Sectoral sanctions Western countries imposed on access to long-term lending for Russian banks and companies are starting to be felt and will impact on the Russian economy, Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak said on Wednesday.

A month earlier, before the sanctions were adopted, Storchak said this limitation did not directly affect the Russian economy but now “indirect effects give way to direct influence”.

The first alarming signal emerged when restrictions were introduced by the international payment systems Visa and MasterCard, he said. Russian exporters feared to lose their foreign currency revenues. “Then, we are naturally concerned about the safety of money transfers connected to servicing of the loans we allotted to foreign borrowers,” Storchak added.

All payments were made through the international interbanking channels, and sanction lists caused some concerns of the financial institutions that closely cooperate with Russia, he said.

There were no problems so far, he added, but some Western partners inquired about the possibility of paying back via old channels.