PM: Russian economic model must assume low oil prices, sanctions

DVORIKI VILLAGE, Vladimir Region, Aug 2 (PRIME) -- Any economic model of Russia’s development should assume low oil prices and long-term sanctions, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday at the Terra Scientia forum.

“These two shocks that you’ve mentioned, I mean the current energy, raw materials prices and sanctions, are unfortunately of a long-term character for our economy. And any economic model which is being prepared now should factor in the idea that these shocks will stay with us for long,” he said.

He added that there are some advantages in the situation.

“We have to transform the model of our economy because of that. For the first time in 15 years we have been able to engage in standard diversification of the economy and in creation of a normal structure of our economy without looking at trends of oil factors. We are able to work on the so-called import substitution,” he said.

Some sectors of the country’s economy have already born the results of the policy, he added.

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