Russians look beyond Western sanctions with Putin’s vision and shift in trade and energy flows

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The West imposed multiple sanctions on Russia in the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine in February this year. The United States and some other western nations slapped Moscow with sanctions with the aim to weaken its economy. 

Now, the Russians are looking beyond the sanctions with a shift in trade and energy flows between Russia and other countries. 

In a televised meeting with the officials, President Vladimir Putin on Thursday (December 15) said that Russia would expand trade cooperation with new partners. 

Putin said that in order to fight the Western sanctions, cooperation with new partners would include by sharply increasing gas exports to China. 

During the meeting, Putin said, “By imposing sanctions, Western countries tried to push Russia to the periphery of world development, but we will never take the route of self-isolation.” 

“We are one of the largest suppliers to the global market of grains, vegetable oils and fertilisers,” he added. 

The Russian president claimed that despite the sanctions over the first nine months of this year, deliveries of basic goods from Russia to the EU countries increased 1.5 times. 

He added,” Joint Russian exports increased by 42 per cent, while the trade surplus increased in our favour by 2.3 times, to $138 billion.”

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