Putin says Western sanctions turn into an impetus for Russia's technology development

Western sanctions were intended to contain Russia, but became an impetus for the development of its own domestic technologies. This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting of the Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights on December 10.

"Even the notorious sanctions, which were conceived by our adversaries as a way to contain Russia, have actually become an impetus for accelerated development and implementation of Russian software," the head of state said.

Putin added that Russia has everything necessary to make a breakthrough in the technological sphere, despite the restrictions imposed by other countries. In particular, it concerns the creation of a transparent digital environment.

"I emphasize that our country now has everything for a technological breakthrough in this area. The system of higher education, unique personnel, sovereign platform solutions that are ahead of foreign analogs, preferences and benefits for IT companies and specialists are set up to achieve it," the Russian leader pointed out.

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Earlier, December 6, the newspaper Politico reported that the new 15th package of anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union (EU) failed to agree due to the veto of Latvia and Lithuania. It is noted that the authorities of the two countries refused to support the proposed package, as it was supposed to block the re-enactment of the provision on the ban on entry to Russia, allowing EU companies to continue to operate in Russia, as well as to obtain authorization to import and export goods that would have been banned. In addition, Germany and France were "reluctant to address the issue."

At the same time, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto called circumventing sanctions against Russia a European sport. According to Szijjártó, the West's strategy to pressure Russia with sanctions has failed and requires changes.

According to economist Maxim Chirkov's assessment, which he shared in a conversation with Izvestia on November 28, as a result of anti-Russian sanctions, many European countries are teetering on the brink of recession. He expressed the opinion that the EU would hardly come up with anything new in this area, and drew attention to the serious growth rates of the Russian economy.

Afterwards, on December 5, Putin said at a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects in the Kremlin that the coming year of 2025 will be a key year for Russia's technological development. The head of state emphasized that it is necessary to achieve global competitiveness of its solutions in this sphere and to enter the international arena with them.

Western countries increased sanctions pressure on Russia after the start of the special operation to protect civilians in Donbass, which was announced on February 24, 2022.